Phytochemical and Pharmacological Potential of Annona Species: A Review

Abstract

Herbal plants and phytogenic products have used for the treatment of various diseases from ancient times in the folklore medicine worldwide. Crude extracts from plants now play an important and valuable source for natural products that are used in the advancement of medicines against various diseases, for the improvement of pharmaceutical preparations and for novel bioscience research. One such plant genus is Annona, such as Annona muricata, Annona cherimola, Annona reticulata, Annona squamosa, and Annona senegalensis are some species widely cultivating in India and tropical regions of Asia for their edible fruits and medicinal values. These plants have been used for centuries as traditional folk medicine for the treatments of various diseases. The plants are considered to be a good source of vitamins, minerals, plant proteins, fibers, etc., as well as the plant is supposed to have many biological activities. This review describes the morphology and ecology of the plant, its ethnomedicinal uses, pharmacological activities, and phytoconstituents.

The selective anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect of A. cherimola on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line

“…Annona cherimola Mill also known as Cherimoya, is an edible subtropical fruit with a sweet flavor containing nutritional components such as vitamins and minerals [17]. On the other hand, A. cherimola was greatly used for various applications in digestive disorder and skin disorders [18]. Studies conducted on the seeds of Cherimoya revealed their potential to induce apoptosis in Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines through the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways [19], and to exhibit a cytotoxic effect on prostate cancer cell line due to the presence of annomolin and annocherimolin [20].…”