review · Plants
Plant species in the family Acanthaceae hold global cultural and economic importance in horticulture, food, and traditional medicine. Within this family, the genus Barleria ranks as the third largest group, with well-documented species including Barleria prionitis, Barleria cristata, Barleria grandiflora, and Barleria lupulina. Extracts derived from the flowers, leaves, stems, roots, and seeds of these plants are rich in bioactive compounds. Recorded biological activities include antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antiviral effects, alongside the ability to biosynthesise nanoparticles and inhibit acetylcholinesterase. Identified phytochemicals responsible for these actions include flavonoids, quinones, iridoids, phenylethanoid glycosides, the immunostimulant protein Sankaranin, and various antibiotics. Despite significant therapeutic potential, information remains scarce for many species within the genus that are yet to be evaluated.
Understanding the chemical profile and therapeutic properties of plant extracts helps validate traditional medicinal practices. Mapping these biological activities provides a clearer foundation for identifying natural compounds that could address infections, chronic diseases, and other health conditions.
The diverse biological activities and isolated compounds point to potential applications in pharmaceutical development, antimicrobial formulations, and green nanoparticle synthesis. Users would primarily be natural product chemists and early-stage drug discovery teams. Because the underlying data derive from laboratory and literature reviews of extracts, the research is at an early stage and requires extensive further screening and validation before commercial use.
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Plant species belonging to the family Acanthaceae are globally known to possess various medicinal properties and have cultural and economic importance in both traditional medicine and horticulture. They are important to both animals and humans and are used as food or for ornamental purposes worldwide. <i>Barleria</i> is the third largest genus in the family Acanthaceae. A few of the highly important and reported species of <i>Barleria</i> include <i>B. prionitis</i>, <i>B. cristata</i>, <i>B. grandiflora</i>, and <i>B. lupulina.</i> The flowers, leaves, stems, roots, and seed extracts of plants belonging to this genus are rich in bioactive compounds and have exhibited significant medicinal potential for the treatment of various ailments and infections. Evidence derived from several studies has demonstrated the antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, analgesic, antiamoebic, antihelminthic, antiarthritic, antihypertensive, antiviral properties and toxicity of extracts, in addition inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity and biosynthesis of nanoparticles, of the plant and seed extracts of species belonging to <i>Barleria</i>. Studies have reported that bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, quinones, iridoids, phenylethanoid glycosides, the immunostimulant protein "Sankaranin", and antibiotics isolated from <i>Barleria</i> species are resposnsible for the above biological activities. Traditionally, the genus <i>Barleria</i> has significant medicinal potential; however, there is a scarcity of information on various species that are yet to be evaluated. This review provides a comprehensive report on existing literature, concerning the phytochemistry and biological activities of the genus <i>Barleria</i>.
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DOI: 10.3390/plants11010082
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