Abstract
The genus Parkia (Fabaceae, Subfamily, Mimosoideae) comprises about 34 species of mostly evergreen trees widely distributed across neotropics, Asia, and Africa. This review aims to provide an overview of the current status of the species from the genus Parkia in terms of its relationship between its phytochemistry and medical uses. Comprehensive information on Parkia species was retrieved from electronic databases, which were Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar. This review identified nine species from genus Parkia with properties of medicinal use. They are used traditionally to treat several ailments, such as diabetes, diarrhea, wounds, hypertension, cough, chronic piles, conjunctivitis, and measles. The most common species studied are P. biglobosa, P. speciosa, P. javanica, P. bicolor, P. biglandulosa, P. filicoidea, and P. clappertoniana. A considerable number of secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids (aglycone and glycosides), and numerous volatile compounds have been identified in this genus, which are responsible for their diverse pharmacological activities. Their extracts, pure compounds and seed lectins have been reported for their anticancer, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antiulcer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimalarial, hepatoprotective, and antidiarrheal activities. The information gathered in this review might be of help for future studies in terms of the current knowledge on the link between the phytochemical components and medicinal uses. This could facilitate more discoveries on its potentials particularly in the pharmacological characteristics and potential to be developed into modern medicines.
Highlights
Parkia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae with pan-tropical distribution [1]
The word Parkia was named after the Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who drowned in the Niger River, Nigeria in January 1805 [2]
P. bicolor, P. clappertoniana, P. biglobosa, P. roxburghii as well as roots of P. speciosa are applied in the form of paste and decoction to treat different skin problems [22,23,24,25]
Summary
Parkia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae (subfamily, Mimosoideae) with pan-tropical distribution [1]. According to a plant list (2018), 80 scientific names are recorded from the genus Parkia containing 41 accepted names and 39 synonym species (The Plant List, 2018). From our extensive research regarding the biological, pharmacological, and phytochemical constituents of species from the genus Parkia, only 12 species have been scientifically investigated so far. From our extensive research regarding the biological, pharmacological, and phytodetermination of biological activities, which include P. bicolor, P. biglobosa, P. biglandulosa, chemical constituents of species from the genus Parkia, only 12 species have been scientifP. Review aims the present state ofismedicinal and andThis medicinal uses to of collate the current knowledge discusseduses with thephytochemistry hope it would expedite ofmore the genus. Medicinal uses of the current knowledge is discussed with the hope it would expedite more discoveries that have potentials to be developed into modern medicines
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