Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb. is an underutilized crop plant belonging to the Fabaceae family. In recent years, the plant received huge attention and was introduced in different countries owing to properties such as a high nutritional content, its nitrogen-fixing abilities, and different biological activities such as its antioxidant, immune modulation, anticancer, anti-diabetes, anti-osteoporosis, antiviral, and antiaging affects, among others. In this review, an attempt has been made to comprehensively compile the biological activities of the plant to provide a panoramic view of the current efforts and further directions, which may lead to the development of pharmacological applications. This information will be helpful in creating interest towards P. erosus and it may be useful in developing the plant for medical applications and/or as a functional food. More than 50 phytochemicals have been reported from the plant, which belong to different chemical classes such as triterpenoids, organic acid, flavonoids, and fatty acids. Numerous biological activities were reported from the plant through in vivo, in vitro, ex vivo, and human studies. However, well-defined clinical studies are still lacking for the establishment of any biological properties that could be further developed. Suggestions for the further development of P. erosus, according to current knowledge about the different biological properties, has also been provided.
Lungworts (members of genus Pulmonaria), especially Pulmonaria officinalis, have been used as medicinal plants in folk and traditional medicine. The potential biological activities of lungworts, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-neurodegenerative, skin whitening, anticoagulant, antibacterial, anti-anemic, anticonvulsant, and wound-healing properties, have been observed in different studies. More than 90 phytochemicals belonging to pharmacologically active phytochemical classes have been reported for lungworts, which can be considered as one of the important contributors to the biological properties along with micronutrients. However, safety studies and clinical trials are missing for lungworts to establish most of their potential biological properties. Similarly, in vivo studies are lacking for anti-inflammatory and anti-neurodegenerative disorders and more in vivo studies are required to strengthen the knowledge of their antioxidant, anticoagulant, and anti-convulsant properties. A comprehensive compilation of the phytochemicals and biological properties of lungworts is also lacking in the literature, which can provide future direction for further pharmacological research. Hence, an attempt has been made in this study to compile the phytochemicals and biological properties to not only provide the resources for the design of further research to develop the pharmacological application of lungworts, but also to highlight the gaps and provide suggestions for future development.
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