Werbena lekarska (Verbena officinalis L.) – charakterystyka botaniczna, skład chemiczny, znaczenie lecznicze, badania aktywności biologicznej oraz badania biotechnologiczne

Abstract

Common vervain (Verbena officinalis L.) is a relatively new pharmacopoeial species in official European and also in Polish therapy. “Verbena herb” monograph has been included in the European Pharmacopoeia from 2008 i.e. from Ph. Eur. 6th, and in national translations of this document in EU member countries, including Polish Pharmacopoeia VIII. The current paper presents botanical characteristics of this species. It reviews current knowledge on chemical composition of common verbena herb, which is a rich source mostly of iridoids, phenylpropanoids glucosides, flavonoids and terpenes. A large part of the article summarizes medicinal uses of the plant and professional pharmacological studies which showed antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer actions of verbena herb compounds. Those studies confirmed its medicinal uses long known in European folk medicine and in Chinese medicine. In addition, it was emphasized that the common vervain plays an important role in food and cosmetic industries, especially due to its antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and the presence of essential oil with an attractive fragrance composition. This paper presents also state of biotechnological studies of this species. The studies in this field are carried out by two cooperating research teams in Poland: Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University and Department of Pharmacognosy, Medical University of Gdańsk.