Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre for Drug and Herbal Research, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Pharmacotherapeutics Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
PMID: 24834098 DOI: 10.1155/2014/782830

Abstract

Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Delarbre, belonging to Polygonaceae family, is a common weed found in most of the temperate countries including Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and Japan. The plant is also referred to as "marsh pepper" or "smart weed." It appears to be a useful herb with evidence-based medicinal properties. The present work addresses the botanical description, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of P. hydropiper. All plant parts have been commonly used in the traditional systems of medicines. Flavonoids are the major group of phytochemical components followed by drimane-type sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenoids, as well as phenylpropanoids. Different extracts and plant parts showed remarkable pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antihelminth, antifeedant, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, oestrogenicity, antifertility, antiadipogenicity, and neuroprotection. Mutagenicity and acute and subchronic toxicities of the plant were also reported. P. hydropiper has tremendous medicinal properties that could further be investigated for the development of evidence-based herbal products.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.