Bergenia Genus: Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology

Abstract

Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) genus is native to central Asia and encompasses 32 known species. Among these, nine are of pharmacological relevance. In the Indian system of traditional medicine (Ayurveda), “Pashanabheda” (stone breaker) is an elite drug formulation obtained from the rhizomes of B. ligulata. Bergenia species also possess several other biological activities like diuretic, antidiabetic, antitussive, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-bradykinin, antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, anticancer, antioxidant, antiobesity, and adaptogenic. This review provides explicit information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological significance of the genus Bergenia. The extant literature concerned was systematically collected from various databases, weblinks, blogs, books, and theses to select 174 references for detailed analysis. To date, 152 chemical constituents have been identified and characterized from the genus Bergenia that belong to the chemical classes of polyphenols, phenolic-glycosides, lactones, quinones, sterols, tannins, terpenes, and others. B. crassifolia alone possesses 104 bioactive compounds. Meticulous pharmacological and phytochemical studies on Bergenia species and its conservation could yield more reliable compounds and products of pharmacological significance for better healthcare.

A comprehensive review of the therapeutic potential of α‐arbutin

“…In various studies, it is revealed that arbutin formulations can be useful for the treatment of various diseases due to its multi‐target biological effects such as treatment of hyperpigmentation disorders (Ayumi, Sahudin, Hussain, Hussain, & Samah, 2019; Park et al, 2019), anti‐diabetic (Lv et al, 2019), wound healing (Polouliakh et al, 2020), anti‐osteoporosis (Bonifacio et al, 2020), treatment of acute lung injury (Ye et al, 2019), management of cardiac hypertrophy (Nalban et al, 2020), anticancer (Jiang et al, 2018; Safari et al, 2020; Wang, Wang, Li, Zhang, & Wang, 2020), antioxidant activity (Bonifacio et al, 2020), treatment of optic nerve injury (Ebrahim‐Tabar, Nazari, Pouramir, Ashrafpour, & Pourabdolhossein, 2020; Zhao, Wang, Qin, & Wang, 2019), treatment of central nervous system disorders (Ahmadian, Ghasemi‐Kasman, Pouramir, & Sadeghi, 2019; Dastan et al, 2019; Ding et al, 2020), hepatoprotective activity (Mirshahvalad et al, 2016), effect on human mesenchymal stem cells (Bonifacio et al, 2020; Jamil, Crowe, Tablin, & Oliver, 2005), radioprotective effect (Nadi, Elahi, Moradi, & Banaei, 2019), antimicrobial (Nadi et al, 2019), antiaging (Zhou et al, 2017), antitussive (Koul, Kumar, Yadav, & Jin, 2020), diuretic (Myagchilov, Mineev, Sokolova, Gerdasova, & Gorovoi, 2020), anti‐inflammatory (Lee & Kim, 2012; Zhou, Zhao, Li, & Reetz, 2019), inhibitory effects on melanin formation (Li, Du, & Du, 2018), estrogen‐like effects (Zeng et al, 2018), and cytoprotective effects (Seyfizadeh et al, 2012) etc.…”

Piperazine tethered bergenin heterocyclic hybrids: design, synthesis, anticancer activity, and molecular docking studies

“…6–8 In the course of our continuous efforts on exploring traditional Indian flora, we have isolated and identified bergenin ( 5 ) as a major lead phytochemical from fruits of Mallotus philippensis which is reported to have versatile biological activities including anticancer, anti-hepatotoxic, antioxidant, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. 9,10 Moreover, recent studies also have demonstrated that bergenin can induce apoptosis by regulating the AKT signaling pathway in human bladder cancer. 11 Despite the wide biological activities, bergenin has poor solubility with weak permeation leading to low absorption and poor bioavailability, 12 which attracted medicinal chemists to focus on its structural modifications to enhance their physical properties.…”

In silico Evaluation of Selected Compounds from Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb against Molecular Targets of Breast Cancer

“…23 Aerial part of this plant also contains bergenin along with other glycosides and flavonoids. 24 Antiurolithic, anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic and anti-tussive effects have been investigated for this plant. [25][26][27][28] Silver nanoparticles prepared from aqueous extract of Bergenia ciliata rhizomes have shown anticancer potential via inhibition of protein kinase activity.…”