Some members of genus Cassia (Senna): Their Ethnobotany, Potency and Prospects of Drug discovery

Abstract

Plants from Cassia species have been used traditionally all over the world in the treatment of various diseases. Various compounds with diverse bioactivities have been isolated from the Cassia species. However, this has not been done exhaustively in all the species. Moreover, only a few drugs are associated with cassia species as their origin despite the knowledge that plants are a good source of drugs. Further investigations are required to isolate more compounds from these species, verify their bioactivities, conduct clinical and toxicological studies and eventually come up with lead drugs. This review relates the ethnobotanical uses of various Cassia species with the isolated bioactive compounds. It pinpoints the limited compounds that have been isolated compared to their traditional benefits justifying the potential and potency of the species as a drug source.