Abstract
The health benefits and toxicity of plant products are largely dependent on their secondary metabolite contents. These compounds are biosynthesized by plants as protection mechanisms against environmental factors and infectious agents. This review discusses the traditional uses, phytochemical constituents and health benefits of plant species in genus Zanthoxylum with a focus on cancer, microbial and parasitic infections, and sickle cell disease as reported in articles published from 1970 to 2021 in peer-reviewed journals and indexed in major scientific databases. Generally, Z. species are widely distributed in Asia, America and Africa, where they are used as food and for disease treatment. Several compounds belonging to alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and lignans, among others have been isolated from Z. species. This review discusses the biological activities reported for the plant species and their phytochemicals, including anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-trypanosomal, antimalarial and anti-sickling properties. The safety profiles and suggestions for conservation of the Z. species were also discussed. Taken together, this review demonstrates that Z. species are rich in a wide range of bioactive phytochemicals with multiple health benefits, but more research is needed towards their practical application in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals and lead compounds for new drugs.
Highlights
Humans have continually depended on plants for food and medicine
The objectives of this review are to discuss (1) the potential of Z. species as sources of bioactive phytochemicals that can be applied in the management and treatment of cancer, microbial and parasitic infections, and sickle cell disease; (2) chemical constituents involved in these biological activities; and (3) safety issues and suggestions for conservation of the plant species
From repositories and search engines (PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar), information related to the health benefits of Z. species, with emphasis on anticancer, antitrypanosomal, antimicrobial, antiviral, antimalarial and antisickling properties, in peer-reviewed journals and ethnobotanical surveys published from 1970-July 3, 2021 were retrieved
Summary
Humans have continually depended on plants for food and medicine. Plants produce secondary metabolites in response to infective agents and environmental factors. Health benefits of Zanthoxylum species to produce crude extracts with biological activities This process is followed by downstream processing to isolate the bioactive compounds, and structural characterization to identify them. Many of the plant species are used in treating sickle cell anemia, trypanosomiasis, malaria and microbial infections, including tuberculosis and enteritis, with Z. zanthoxyloides Lam being the most reported species for these applications (Erichsen-Brown 1979; Burkill 1985). The objectives of this review are to discuss (1) the potential of Z. species as sources of bioactive phytochemicals that can be applied in the management and treatment of cancer, microbial and parasitic infections, and sickle cell disease; (2) chemical constituents involved in these biological activities; and (3) safety issues and suggestions for conservation of the plant species
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