Mint species with great potential for drug discovery.
IPB researchers, together with international partners, recently published a phytochemical review on the plant genus Lagochilus. This genus of the mint family (Lamiaceae) is native to Central and Eastern Asia and its species have been commonly used as herbal medicines for the treatments of various ailments for thousands of years, especially in Asian countries.
In their review article, the authors systematically summarize literature information on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Lagochilus species. In addition to diterpenes, which are the most characteristic and important phytochemicals of this plant genus, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, triterpenoids and many more secondary metabolites can be found in Lagochilus. These compounds show a variety of activities ranging from hemostatic to antibacterial to psychoactive. Accordingly, Lagochilus is traditionally used to treat hemorrhage, inflammation, heart and skin diseases, or administered as a sedative. With their review, the authors aim to shed light on the little known genus.
They encourage chemists to study Lagochilus for new substances with promising activities and emphasize the importance of preserving biodiversity and thus chemical diversity.
Original publication:
Nilufar Z. Mamadalieva, Davlat Kh. Akramov, Ludger A. Wessjohann, Hidayat Hussain, Chunlin Long, Komiljon Sh. Tojibaev, Elham Alshammari, Mohamed L. Ashour and Michael Wink. The Genus Lagochilus (Lamiaceae): A Review of Its Diversity, Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology. Plants 2021, 10(1), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010132
