Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Medicinal Plants from Uzbekistan: A Review

Medicinal plants are a reservoir of biologically active compounds with therapeutic properties that over time have been discovered and used by diverse groups of people for treatment of various ailments. In this regard, Uzbekistan has an excellent historic research base of herbal medicines with about 70% of Uzbek households using medicinal plants to meet their health needs for several centuries. The flora of Uzbekistan includes more than 4500 species of vascular plants and over 600 of these plants are used in traditional or conventional medicines, significantly surpassing other areas by the absolute number of endemics and the percentage of endemism. The plants are a reservoir of secondary metabolites, suitable for use in pharmacological studies with a high possibility of observing biologically active constituents. The present review provides an up-todate a report on the phytochemicals and pharmacological activity of the medicinal plants widely used in Uzbekistan. As a country, Uzbekistan appears to be a source of novel herbal drugs that have not yet been fully evaluated. We trust the present report will be useful for further investigations on the medicinal activity of indigenous plant species in