Clerodendrum and Healthcare: An Overview - Part II Phytochemistry and Biotechnology

The genus Clerodendrum is very widely distributed throughout the world and has more than five hundred species. Many species of this genus have been described in various indigenous systems of medicine and are used in preparation of folklore medicines for the treatment of various life-threatening diseases. From the genus few species are very well studied for their chemical constituents and biological activities, the latter having been covered in our previous review. This review mainly focuses on phytochemistry i.e. isolation, identification and characterization of chemical constituents and biotechnological prospects of the Clerodendrum genus. Some of the species described in the review are Clerodendrum trichotomum, C. bungei, C. chinense, C. colebrookianum, C. inerme, C. phlomidis, C. petasites, C. grayi, C. indicum, C. serratum, C. campbellii, C. calamitosum and C. cyrtophyllum. The major chemical constituents present in this genus were identified as phenolics, flavonoids, terpenes, steroids and oils. Biotechnological aspects have also been discussed in the review. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________