Avicennia marina a natural reservoir of phytopharmaceuticals: Curative power and platform of medicines

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. is a historic plant, well-known for many centuries in traditional and folk use medicine. A. marina is an evergreen tree belongs to Acanthaceae family. The plant is the most widespread mangrove in the tropical and subtropical regions of Indo-West-Pacific area. Current scientific data confirmed the medicinal values of A. marina. The pharmacological activity of the plant is attributed to the presence of several phytochemical classes.

Aim of the study: To evaluate the link between the traditional use of the plant and the scientific data accumulated over time including both the phytochemical analysis and therapeutic activities. Additionally, to evaluate the usage of obtained data for further development of the plant and its products in the pharmaceutical market.

Materials and methods: The data related to traditional medicine, therapeutic uses, phytochemical analysis and market availability of A. marina and its products from different geographical regions were collected. The collected data was compared and the research gaps were identified in order to highlight areas that can be employed to improve plant-based research and development.

Results: Although the wide geographical distribution of the plant, its historic traditional use, richness of phytochemicals and diverse pharmacological activities, the utilization of these data has never been exploited for human health and several gaps were identified. These gaps include the lack of phyto-geographical comparison of the plant, the lack of proper mapping of traditional use to the scientific data and inadequate exploration of plant phytochemicals by researchers.

Conclusions: A. marina is an old tree that has evolved over centuries and adapted diverse climates. It contains a pool of potential phytochemicals that can be employed for the discovery of drugs after careful studies. Scientists are required to invest money and time to explore these renewable and natural sources of drugs and design drug formulations to overcome current difficult to treat health issues and fight against the era of drug resistant.

Keywords: Avicennia marina; Curative power of the plant; Phytochemicals; Plants-based research gaps; Therapeutic activities; Traditional uses.