Background:
The history of traditional systems of medicine goes parallel with the history
of human beings. Even today people have faith in traditional systems of medicine based on medicinal
plants to meet primary health care needs. Hence, the scientific evaluation and documentation of
extracts and active ingredients of medicinal plants always play a supportive role in their medicinal
applications.
Objective:
This review aims to present the phytochemicals isolated from the genus Bombax and their
pharmacological applications.
Methods:
The literature from research and review papers was analyzed and the information was
compiled to present the pharmacological applications of various secondary metabolites from genus
Bombax.
Results:
The genus Bombax belongs to the family Malvaceae and known for its therapeutic applications.
The crude, semi-purified and purified extracts of different parts of this plant have shown potential
therapeutic applications. A total of 96 articles including research and review papers were referred
for the compilation of isolated phytochemicals and their chemical structures.
Conclusion:
We systematically summarized 176 isolated compounds from the genus Bombax. The
findings show that this plant shows potential towards pharmacological activities. The activities were
found more from extracts than the single isolated compounds.
