Verbena officinalis (Common Vervain) – A Review on the Investigations of This Medicinally Important Plant Species

Abstract

Verbena officinalis (common vervain) is a medicinal plant species widely distributed in the world and commonly used in folk medicine of different countries, including traditional Chinese medicine. Monographs on “Verbenae herba” have been included in the European Pharmacopoeia since 2008, and in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia since 1995. This work presents botanical characteristics of this species. It reviews the current knowledge of its chemical composition, which is a rich source mostly of iridoids, phenylpropanoid glycosides, phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and essential oil. A large part of this article summarizes traditional medicinal uses and professional pharmacological in vitro and in vivo studies that prove new important applications, e.g., antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective anticancer, analgesic, or anticonvulsant of verbena herb extracts and individual metabolites. Moreover, emphasis is put on the use of V. officinalis in the food and cosmetics industries, especially due to its antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, and the presence of essential oil with an attractive fragrance composition. This paper also presents the state of biotechnological studies of this species.

Production of Verbascoside, Isoverbascoside and Phenolic Acids in Callus, Suspension, and Bioreactor Cultures of Verbena officinalis and Biological Properties of Biomass Extracts

“…The verbena herb-blooming overground parts of the plant is characterized by the presence of several important groups of antioxidants-iridoids, phenylpropanoid glycosides, phenolic acids and flavonoids [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Iridoids are represented mainly by verbenalin, aucubin and hastatoside, while phenylpropanoid glycosides by verbascoside, isoverbascoside and eukovoside.…”

“…The plant produces an essential oil which is dominated by monoterpenoid components. Sterols, carbohydrates and numerous bioelements are also found in the herb [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…The advantage is also taken of its beneficial effect in the treatment of depression, insomnia and anxiety. In addition, the raw material is successfully used in the treatment of liver and gallbladder diseases [6,14,16].…”

Characterization of the chloroplast genome of Verbena officinalis Linn. (Verbenaceae) and its phylogenetic analysis

“…Verbena officinalis is a perennial plant species, which has been widely used as a herbal medicine in China for centuries. Besides, both the Chinese Pharmacopeia and the European Pharmacopeia have included V. officinalis (Kubica et al 2020). It is distributed from temperate to tropical regions all over the world.…”

“…Besides, both the Chinese Pharmacopeia and the European Pharmacopeia have included V. officinalis (Kubica et al. 2020 ). It is distributed from temperate to tropical regions all over the world.…”