The members of the Prangos genus (Apiaceae) have been widely applied in the Iranian traditional medicine internally and externally for different purposes. The aim of this review is to summarize the ethnomedicinal and food applications of Prangos species and to gather the phytochemical and pharmacological data on this genus. Among the 129 constituents isolated from Prangos species, coumarin derivatives are the main compounds. Several papers report the compositions of essential oils obtained from different plant parts, mostly containing monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. Various pharmacological activities of essential oils, crude extracts or isolated compounds of the Prangos species have been observed, primarily in in vitro experiments. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-proliferative activities have been the most extensively studied. The efficacy and safety of Prangos plants have not been assessed in animal experiments or clinical trials. Although their furocoumarin content might be a source of adverse effects, toxic effects of Prangos species have not been reported. It can be concluded, that further preclinical and clinical data are necessary to assess the rationale and safety of the medicinal and food use of Prangos species. Keywords Coumarins Á Ethnobotanical Á Functional foods Á Pharmacological properties Á Prangos Abbreviations A2780S Human ovarian carcinoma cell line A375 Human melanoma cell line A431 Human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A549 Human lung cell line ABTS 2,2 0-SzinobisAzino-bis-(3ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) ACE Angiotensin-converting enzyme AChE Acetylcholinesterase enzyme AE Acarbose equivalent BChE Butyryl-cholinesterase enzyme BHK 21 Baby hamster kidney fibroblast cell line Caco-2 Human colon cancer cell line CCL-221 Human colorectal cancer cell line COX-1 Cyclooxygenase enzyme type 1 COX-2 Cyclooxygenase enzyme type 2 CUPRAC Cupric ion reducing activity DEET N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide DPPH 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl EO Essential oil FRAP Ferric reducing antioxidant power GE Galanthamine equivalent GST Glutathione-S-transferase Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (