Drawing a parallel between phytochemistry and other features of Vismieae species

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The present study provides an overview, focusing on the botanical aspects, phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology and biological activities reported for species from the tribe Vismieae (Hypericaceae). These species, traditionally distributed in three genera (Vismia, Psorospermum and Harungana), occur predominantly in tropical areas of South America, mainland Africa and Madagascar, where several of them are used in the traditional medicine mainly as febrifugal, antimalarial and for treating wounds of diverse origin. The phytochemical investigations indicated that the plants produce anthraquinones, anthrones, xanthones, benzophenones, flavonoids and some terpenoids. A number of 221 different compounds were obtained from 32 species of the tribe. Several compounds were investigated for the pharmacological activities, being cytotoxic and antimicrobial the most cited. Nevertheless, a number of pharmacological researches were carried out with extracts and some findings experimentally evidenced the ethnopharmacological usefulness of several species. The distribution of the anthracenic derivatives, xanthones and benzophenone precursors is not uniform in the genera. Thus, the substitution pattern of these compounds was analyzed and the systematic relationship among the taxa is discussed in the light of these features. Of note, more species need chemical investigation in order to make a judgment about the taxonomic significance of the compounds, but it seems that, although the tribe has a certain homogeneity, each genus has particularities. Considering this statement, it is possible to say that in the chemical point of view, Psorospermum is diferent from Harungana and both are diferent from Vismia, which is clearly separate into two distinct groups, the African and the American species.