Rhodomyrtus Tomentosa: A Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review

Abstract

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa is a common wood, prevalent in areas with undemanding soil conditions and resistant toward pests and diseases. The plant can be found in China, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Literature and artwork indicate that R. tomentosa played an important holistic role in the daily lives of several ancient cultures, providing medicinal benefits. R. tomentosa exhibits a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects and has been used to treat colic diarrhea, wounds, heartburn, abscesses, gynecopathy, and as a pain killer. R. tomentosa was used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat urinary tract infection. 42 compounds have been isolated from this plant and structurally elucidated. They comprise phloroglucinol, flavonoid, terpenoid, anthracene glycoside, tannin, and other compounds. Rhodomyrtone, a member of the acylphloroglucinols demonstrated a significant activity against a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria. Rhodomyrtone exhibited both antimicrobial and anti-infective activities. Several biological activities have been documented as antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, osteogenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. R. tomentosa has been studied extensively for alternative antimicrobial agents. Although rhodomyrtone exhibited potential activity with a very low minimum inhibitory concentration value, the mechanisms of action of this compound are still unclear. Furthermore, toxicity studies on it extract to validate pharmacological activities are required.

The role of myricetin fromRhodomyrtus tomentosa(Aiton) Hassk fruits on downregulation of FcɛRI‐mediated mast cell activation

“…Recently, R. tomentosa has got much attention by researchers due to its nutritional values, phytochemical compositions, and biological activities. A large source of bioactive compounds such as triterpenes, steroids, and phenolics from R. tomentosa has been identified in numerous studies (Hamid, Mutazah, & Yusoff, ). Moreover, various pharmaceutical values of R. tomentosa including anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti‐diabetic, anti‐ulcerogenic, antidepressant, and anti‐atherosclerotic activities have been evidenced in different experimental models (Vo & Ngo, ).…”

Antibacterial Activity of Karamunting (Rhodomyrtus Tomentosa (Aiton) Hassk) Leaf Extract and Fractions

“…One of the rising plants is Karamunting (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa [Aiton] Hassk). Karamunting has been used in traditional Vietnamese, Chinese and Malaysian medicine to treat diarrhea [4]. Karamunting are known to be effective in antibiofilm, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, osteogenic, and anti-inflammatory [5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

Screening Antibacterial Effects of Vietnamese Plant Extracts Against Pathogens Caused Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease in Shrimps

“…Even R. tomentosa has a long history of application in ethnic medicine [12,13,19,43], its biological and pharmacological properties have not yet been well established, and it is listed as one of 240 "Neglected and Underutilised Crop Sciences" of Vietnam, China, Thailand, and Cambodia by the scientific project "Agrofolio" [44]. The current study highlights R. tomentosa antibacterial effects and safety, recommends it as a promissory candidate to treat AHPND of shrimps, and thus suggests that more research attentions would be justified to verify the therapeutic potential of this plant.…”