Symphytum Species: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Composition, Food Applications and Phytopharmacology

Abstract

Symphytum species belongs to the Boraginaceae family and have been used for centuries for bone breakages, sprains and rheumatism, liver problems, gastritis, ulcers, skin problems, joint pain and contusions, wounds, gout, hematomas and thrombophlebitis. Considering the innumerable potentialities of the Symphytum species and their widespread use in the world, it is extremely important to provide data compiling the available literature to identify the areas of intense research and the main gaps in order to design future studies. The present review aims at summarizing the main data on the therapeutic indications of the Symphytum species based on the current evidence, also emphasizing data on both the efficacy and adverse effects. The present review was carried out by consulting PubMed (Medline), Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Database, Science Direct and Google Scholar (as a search engine) databases to retrieve the most updated articles on this topic. All articles were carefully analyzed by the authors to assess their strengths and weaknesses, and to select the most useful ones for the purpose of review, prioritizing articles published from 1956 to 2018. The pharmacological effects of the Symphytum species are attributed to several chemical compounds, among them allantoin, phenolic compounds, glycopeptides, polysaccharides and some toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Not less important to highlight are the risks associated with its use. In fact, there is increasing consumption of over-the-counter drugs, which when associated with conventional drugs can cause serious and even fatal adverse events. Although clinical trials sustain the folk topical application of Symphytum species in musculoskeletal and blunt injuries, with minor adverse effects, its antimicrobial potency was still poorly investigated. Further studies are needed to assess the antimicrobial spectrum of Symphytum species and to characterize the active molecules both in vitro and in vivo.

Occurrence of Emerging Contaminants of Plant Origin in River Waters from Vejle, Denmark

“…Other PAs, echimidine, echimidine N-oxide and lycopsamine Noxide were obtained at lower detection frequency (less than 30% of the samples) at concentrations of up to 34.7 ng/L. The compounds were previously reported in different Boraginaceae including Symphytum bulbosum, Symphytum o cinale and Symphytum tuberosum (Günthardt et al 2018;Brauchli et al 1982;Brown et al 2016;Salehi et al 2019;Mei et al 2010). This is in agreement with the abundant presence of Symphytum x uplandicum along Ballegab Skovbaek and Vejle rivers.…”

The Biological Activity of Natural Alkaloids against Herbivores, Cancerous Cells and Pathogens

“…Utilizing toxicological analysis of such secondary metabolites may help in the diagnosis of poisoning or abuse cases. Among the toxic secondary metabolites are harmaline, ibogaine, kawain, cytisine, dimethyltryptamine, harmine, aconitine, atropine, coniine, colchicine, taxine, mescaline, and scopolamine, which are often involved in fatal poisonings [190].…”

“…From the root of Dictamnusdasycarpus two antifungal fructoxin alkaloids were isolated. 3-Methoxisampangin ( 78 in Figure 11) of cleistopholispatens showed vast inhibitory activity against each of C. albicans, A. fumigatus, and C. neoformans [190]. Table 4 lists the antifungal activity of the compounds discussed in this section.…”

Influence of the Post-Harvest Storage Time on the Multi-Biological Potential, Phenolic and Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Content of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) Roots Collected from Different European Regions

“…Even though the ethnopharmacological studies have shown that various formulations (tinctures, ointments, compresses, and decocts) are ex tempore prepared from fresh roots, generally collected from March to June and from September to October [ 1 , 8 ], dried comfrey roots are commercially available (i.e., in pharmacies, herbal stores) and further processed domestically (in household) or industrially (large-scale) [ 16 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no previous studies to address the influence of the post-harvest storage time on the chemico-biological potential of S. officinale L.…”

“…Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have already reported a plethora of biological activities of extracts obtained from different Symphytum species (i.e., antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, anti-nociceptive, anti-enzymatic) [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Furthermore, numerous randomized clinical trials have shown that topical comfrey formulations are able to ameliorate the pain, inflammation, and swelling of muscles and joints from arthritis, bone fractures, contusions, or sprains [ 11 , 12 ].…”