A REVIEW OF THE PLANTS OF THE GENUS PHYLLANTHUS - THEIR CHEMISTRY, PHARMACOLOGY, AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL

The plants of the genus Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae) are widely distrib uted in most tropical and subtropical countries, and have long been us ed in folk medicine to treat kidney and urinary bladder disturbances, intestinal infections, diabetes, and hepatitis B. In recent years, the interest in the plants has increased considerably. Substantial progre ss on their chemistal and pharmacological properties, as well as a few clinical studies of some Phyllanthus species have been made. This rev iew discusses the current knowledge of their chemistry, the in vitro a nd in vivo pharmacological, biochemical, and clinical studies carried out on the extracts, and the main active constituents isolated from di fferent species of plants of the genus Phyllanthus. These studies carr ied out with the extracts and purified compounds from these plants sup port most of their reported uses in folk medicine as an antiviral, in the treatment of genitourinary disorders, and as antinociceptive agent s. However, well-controlled, double-binding clinical trials are lackin g. Several compounds including alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, phenols , and terpenes were isolated from these plants and some of them intera ct with most key enzymes. Together this data strongly supports the vie w that the plants belonging to the genus Phyllanthus have potential be neficial therapeutic actions in the management of hepatitis B, nefroli tiase, and in painful disorders. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.