A Review of the Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Phyllanthus urinaria L.

Abstract

The genus Phyllanthus (L.) is one of the most important groups of plants belonging to the Phyllantaceae family. Phyllanthus urinaria (L.) is an annual perennial herbal species found in tropical Asia, America, China, and the Indian Ocean islands. P. urinaria is used in folk medicine as a cure to treat jaundice, diabetes, malaria, and liver diseases. This review provides traditional knowledge, phytochemistry, and biological activities of P. urinaria. The literature reviewed for this article was obtained from the Web of Science, SciFinder, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar journal papers published prior to December 2017. Phytochemical investigations reveal that the plant is a rich source of lignans, tannins, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, and other secondary metabolites. Pharmacological activities include anticancer, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and cardioprotective effects. Thus, this present review summarizes the phytochemical constituents and their biological activities including biological studies on various crude extracts and fractions both in vitro and in vivo, and on clinical trial information about P. urinaria. This review compiles 93 naturally occurring compounds from P. urinaria along with their structures and pharmacological activities. The review is expected to stimulate further research on P. urinaria, and its pharmacological potential to yield novel therapeutic agents.

Green Silver Nanoparticles Formed by Phyllanthus urinaria, Pouzolzia zeylanica, and Scoparia dulcis Leaf Extracts and the Antifungal Activity

“…The underlying mechanism for the formation of silver nanoparticles in the plant extracts was an oxidation-reduction process. Generally, lignans, nor-lignans, tannins, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C are great antioxidants and reducing agents [22,24,28,33]. These compounds, mostly possessing phenol or hydroxyl groups, may inhibit oxidants by transferring their hydrogen atom and forming a transition state pending one remained electron.…”

“…More than sixty plants used for green AgNP synthesis were summarized [11,14], but Phyllanthus urinaria (P. urinaria), Pouzolzia zeylanica (P. zeylanica), and Scoparia dulcis (S. dulcis) are plants of interest that have not yet been explored. P. urinaria, P. zeylanica, and S. dulcis are traditional herbs distributed mainly in tropical countries [22][23][24][25][26][27]. In folk medicine, P. urinaria is well known as a remedy for treating many diseases, including diabetes, jaundice, malaria, cancer, infection, and liver diseases [24][25][26].…”

“…P. urinaria, P. zeylanica, and S. dulcis are traditional herbs distributed mainly in tropical countries [22][23][24][25][26][27]. In folk medicine, P. urinaria is well known as a remedy for treating many diseases, including diabetes, jaundice, malaria, cancer, infection, and liver diseases [24][25][26]. P. zeylanica shows its effects in anti-bacteria, anti-inflammation, anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-snake venom activities, antiasthma, and pain relief [22,23,28].…”

Uncovering bioactive compounds and potential mechanisms of Jieduan-Niwan Formula against liver failure

“…According to traditional knowledge, some herbs in JDNW formula were used treating liver diseases. Especially, aqueous extract from Phyllanthus urinaria was found potential therapeutic effect on liver injury, hepatitis B and liver cancer [19]. Indeed, the relationship between JDNW formula and liver diseases mentioned above remains unknown.…”

Kajian Etnofarmakologi Pemanfaatan Tanaman Obat Oleh Masyarakat Di Kecamatan Dawuan Kabupaten Subang Provinsi Jawa Barat

“…Hidayat, Hikmat, & Zuhud, 2010;Qamariah, 2017). (Geethangili & Ding, 2018). Tanaman jarak pagar dari hasil uji farmakologinya menunjukkan aktivitas antibakteri pada infeksi kulit sesuai dengan pemanfaatan oleh masyarakat di Dawuan (Thomas, Sah, & Sharma, 2008).…”