The Genus Carissa: An Ethnopharmacological, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review

Abstract

Carissa L. is a genus of the family Apocynaceae, with about 36 species as evergreen shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania. Most of Carissa plants have been employed and utilized in traditional medicine for various ailments, such as headache, chest complains, rheumatism, oedema, gonorrhoea, syphilis, rabies. So far, only nine Carissa species have been phytochemically studied, which led to the identification of 123 compounds including terpenes, flavonoids, lignans, sterols, simple phenolic compounds, fatty acids and esters, and so on. Pharmacological studies on Carissa species have also indicated various bioactive potentials. This review covers the peer-reviewed articles between 1954 and 2016, retrieved from Pubmed, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Wikipedia and Baidu, using “Carissa” as search term (“all fields”) and with no specific time frame set for search. Fifteen important medicinal or ornamental Carissa species were selected and summarized on their botanical characteristics, geographical distribution, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities.

Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and biotechnological advances of family Apocynaceae: A review

“…Carissa genus of this family contains comparatively higher amount of terpenoids (mono, sesqui, and tri terpenoids). In the systematic review of Kaunda and Zhang (), 22 triterpenes, 18 monoterpenes, and 16 sesquiterpenes from different species of Carissa genus were reported. Among all, maximum terpenoids were reported in Carissa carandas .…”

“…A few reports are available on lignans from some members of family Apocynaceae. Kaunda and Zhang () reported a number of lignans from Carissa edulis and Carissa spinarum . An earlier study on isolation of lignan from root extract of Carissa carandas reveled carinol (134) as phenolic lignan (Pal et al, ).…”

“…A few reports are available on lignans from some members of family Apocynaceae. Kaunda and Zhang (2017) were isolated from Carissa carandas stem (Jagetia & Baliga, 2006).…”

Chemical Composition and Activity of Essential Oils of Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC. Cultivated in Tunisia and Its Anatomical Features

“…Carissa , one of the genera of Apocynaceae, consists of about 35 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania. [ ][ ] Most of Carissa species have been employed and utilized in traditional medicine for various ailments, such as headache, chest complains, rheumatism, oedema, gonorrhoea, syphilis and rabies …”

“…[14] [17 -19] Most of Carissa species have been employed and utilized in traditional medicine for various ailments, such as headache, chest complains, rheumatism, oedema, gonorrhoea, syphilis and rabies. [20] Carissa macrocarpa (ECKL.) A.DC.…”