Advances in Phytochemical and Pharmacological Research on Simarouba Glauca

Simarouba glauca (SG) has been widely employed as an herbal medicine since time immemorial in several civilizations. This plant belongs to the Simaroubaceae family, which is also known as the Tree of Heaven, among many other names. The purpose of this review is to summarize the existing knowledge and contribution to the pharmacological properties of SG, which will form the basis for further research of its unexplored therapeutic value and the chemical nature of the active constituents. The phytochemical and therapeutical evaluation of SG has demonstrated that the plant possesses many medicinal properties such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimalarial, antioxidant, antifungal, antiulcer, antidiabetic, antidiarrhea and skin moisturizer. Most studies conducted earlier involved using the plant crude extract without purification and characterization, which involves critical processes in determining the essential phytochemical compounds present in the plant that have maximum therapeutic significance. At the same time, few studies have used modern analytical methods to purify and characterize the isolated plant extracts to obtain the possible phytochemicals, among which the quassinoids are associated with SG's anticancer activities. However, it is unclear whether the anticancer actions of SG extracts are due to only quassinoids or other phytochemical constituents also contributing to this property. SG has a long history of medicinal use across civilizations and shows promising pharmacological properties. However, further research is needed to fully understand its therapeutic potential, especially regarding the identification and characterization of its active constituents. Further exploration in this area will be crucial for maximizing the therapeutic benefits of SG.