Lantana camara: A Comprehensive Review on Phytochemistry, Ethnopharmacology and Essential Oil Composition

Abstract

In the present era, researchers are focusing on medicinal plant research throughout the world as medicinal plants are an important and cheap source of drugs and have a long history. Most of the remedies in the traditional system were taken from plants due to lack of technology, and using plants as medicines were proven to be useful. Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) is an aromatic plant as well as a rich source of medicinal compounds. From decades the plant is used to treat many diseases i.e., malaria, fever, cold and cough etc. Several essential phytochemicals have been isolated from L.camara L., including triterpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, steroids, and tannins. Moreover, it is also known as an essential oil-producing plant, and the essential oil is available in the market known as Lantana oils. Thus due to the above mentioned economic as well as medicinal properties of L.camara L; there is a need of a comprehensive report on the ethnobotanical, phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects of L. camara L. This review will be useful for researchers working in the field of genomics, metabolomics and molecular studies of medicinal plants.