Phytochemistry and Evidence-Based Traditional Uses of the Genus Achillea L.: An Update (2011–2021)

Abstract

Knowledge within the field of phytochemistry research has accelerated at a tremendous speed. The excess of literature reports featuring plants of high ethnopharmacological importance, in combination with our interest in the Asteraceae family and traditional medicine, led us to acknowledge the value of the Achillea L. genus. In a broad context, the various Achillea species are used around the globe for the prevention and treatment of different diseases, including gastrointestinal problems, haemorrhages, pneumonia, rheumatic pains, diuresis, inflammation, infections, and wounds, as well as menstrual and gynaecologic abnormalities. The present review aims to provide and summarize the recent literature (2011–2021) on the phytochemistry of the Achillea genus. In parallel, this study attempts to bridge the reports on the traditional uses with modern pharmacological data. Research articles that focused on secondary metabolites, traditional uses and pharmacological activities were collected from various scientific databases such as Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Reaxys and Google Scholar. This study revealed the presence of 141 phytochemicals, while 24 traditionally used Achillea spp. were discussed in comparison to current data with an experimental basis.

Bioavailability Assessment of Yarrow Phenolic Compounds Using an In Vitro Digestion/Caco-2 Cell Model: Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Basolateral Fraction

“…Achillea millefolium L. (yarrow) is a flowering plant traditionally used in the treatment of digestive and hepatobiliary disorders, inflammation, and diabetes [ 1 ]. Recent reports indicated that Achillea genus presented important biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities [ 2 ].…”

Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antibacterial Properties of an Achillea millefolium L. Extract and Its Fractions Obtained by Supercritical Anti-Solvent Fractionation against Helicobacter pylori

“…Due to the widely known benefits of this plant, the study of its composition and biological properties has awakened a constant interest in developing pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food products [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Dried and fresh upper parts from yarrow have been used to prepare aqueous and alcoholic extracts for the treatment of several health problems, such as diabetes and cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatobiliary, spasmodic, and gastrointestinal disorders [ 17 ]. In addition, yarrow has been used externally for the treatment of skin and mucous membrane inflammation [ 18 ].…”

Functional profiling of Achillea fragrantissima (a perennial edible herb) against human cancer cells and potential nutraceutical impact in neutralizing cell proliferation by interfering with VEGF and NF-κB signaling pathways

“…The estimation was made for different kinds of molecules such as flavonoids, tannins, phenolics, saponins, and alkaloids, which are present in varying concentrations in the hydro-alcoholic extract, as shown in Figure 1. Specifically known phytochemicals (Table 1) present in this plant include sesquiterpene lactone, Achillolide A, 3,5,4'trihydroxy-6,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone, cirsiliol, cirsimaritin, and a number of hydrocarbon compounds which have been reported to possess pharmacological properties including anticancer effects (Barda et al, 2021;Bartolotti et al, 2018;Patocka and Navratilova, 2019). Studies have shown that various secondary metabolites of plant origin have the ability to inhibit the process of carcinogenesis in preclinical and clinical models (Ullah et al, 2014).…”