The Genus Commiphora: An Overview of Its Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Quality Control

Overview

Journal Pharmaceuticals (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Chemistry

Date 2024 Nov 27

PMID 39598434

Authors

Yujia Yang

Xiuting Sun

Chuhang Peng

Jianhe Wei

Xinquan Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Myrrh is the resinous substance secreted by plants of the genus . In traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and traditional Arabic medicine, myrrh is regarded as an important medicinal material, widely used in the treatment of trauma, arthritis, hyperlipidemia, and other diseases. This review explores the evolving scientific understanding of the genus , covering facets of ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, artificial cultivation, and quality control. In particular, the chemical constituents and pharmacological research are reviewed. More than 300 types of secondary metabolites have been identified through phytochemical studies of this genus. Guggulsterone is a bioactive steroid isolated mainly from . The two isomers, and guggulsterone, have shown a wide range of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects, including anti-proliferation, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial. However, the current scientific research on quality control of medicinal materials and identification of original plants is insufficient, which limits the reproducibility and accuracy of biological activity evaluation experiments. Therefore, the establishment of analytical protocols and standardization of extracts is an important step before biological evaluation. At the same time, in order to find more bioactive substances, it is necessary to strengthen the research on the stems, barks, and leaves of this genus. The sources used in this study include PubMed, CNKI, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other databases, as well as multinational pharmacopoeias, ancient books of traditional medicine, herbal classics, and modern monographs.

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