Pharmacological Activities of Bioactive Compounds from Crescentia cujete L. Plant – A Review

Abstract

Crescentia cujete is widely known as a medicinal plant with broad indigenous ethnomedical uses such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antivenom, antidiabetic, and antioxidant. Despite these known indigenous uses, the benefits obtained from C. cujete are far from fully used due to the underwhelming studies on its pharmacological potential, bioactive compounds, and mechanism of action that keep the pharmacological and new drug discovery progress slowly. The information in this review was gathered from major and trusted scientific databases and journal publications, books, and dissertations. In this review, available studies on ethnobotanical, general, and medical use, as well as phytochemical findings and known pharmacological applications of the plant, were collated and established. The most commonly investigated as well as the grey areas realized from this review regarding the pharmacological potentials of the plant consequently suggest the incorporation of in silico in-depth studies to understand the mechanism of action of bioactive compounds, as well as more pharmacological potential investigations of the compounds found in the least studied parts, such as the seeds, bark, and flowers of the plant. This will ensure continuous and fast-moving advances in the pharmacological application of C. cujete.