PUERARIA LOBATA PLANT AND ITS BIOACTIVE METABOLITES: CHEMISTRY, PHARMACOLOGY, AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL

Gunjan Mahajan, Md. Aakif Bagwan*

Chapters in the review article provide a deep dive into isoflavonoids and this triterpenoid puerarin reviewing chemical structures, properties, oral bioavailability and pharmacological effects. Puerarin is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine derived from the "Gegen" plant, which shows anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity, but its clinical application has been greatly hindered by extremely low bioavailability attributed to glucopyranose. Daidzein is another phytoestrogen and a bioactive compound with various metabolites that have estrogen-like actions which has been used in bio-based wood adhesives as well as flame retardants. Genistein: Found in soy products, it exerts estrogenic activity and has antioxidant properties, antidiabetic effects, and anticarcinogenic properties, but clinical use is limited by its poor bioavailability. Formononetin, belonging to the Fabaceae family, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antimicrobial properties. Lupeol is a natural triterpanic compound derived from several plant species and known for its antimetastatic, antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. Coumestrol is a phytoestrogen found in legumes that has neuroprotective and immunomodulatory properties. Researchers have proposed it to be used in the treatment of different psychiatric and neurological disorders. The article also describes their chemical structures backed by various Anticancer properties studies showed their all molecular structure.