A Review on the Medicinal PlantDalbergia odoriferaSpecies: Phytochemistry and Biological Activity

Abstract

The crucial medicinal plantDalbergia odoriferaT. Chen species belongs to genusDalbergia, with interesting secondary metabolites, consisting of main classes of flavonoid, phenol, and sesquiterpene derivatives, as well as several arylbenzofurans, quinones, and fatty acids. Biological studies were carried out on extracts, fractions, and compounds from this species involved in cytotoxic assays; antibacterial, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, antiplatelet, antiosteosarcoma, antiosteoporosis, antiangiogenesis, and prostaglandin biosynthetic enzyme inhibition activities; vasorelaxant activities; alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities; and many other effects. In terms of the valuable resources for natural new drugs development,D. odoriferaspecies are widely used as medicinal drugs in many countries for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, blood disorders, ischemia, swelling, necrosis, or rheumatic pain. Although natural products from this plant have been increasingly playing an important role in drug discovery programs, there is no supportive evidence to provide a general insight into phytochemical studies onD. odoriferaspecies and biological activities of extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds. To a certain extent, this review deals with an overview of almost naturally occurring compounds from this species, along with extensive coverage of their biological evaluations.