Genus Vanda: A review on traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents and pharmacological activities

Journal of Ethnopharmacology Volume 229, 30 January 2019, Pages 46-53 Journal of Ethnopharmacology Review Author links open overlay panelHaroonKhanaMaryaaTarunBelwalbMohd TariqbAtanas G.AtanasovcdHari PrasadDevkotaef a Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 23200, Pakistan b G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development, Kosi Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand, India c Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 05-552 Jastrzebiec, Poland d Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria e School of Pharmacy, Kumamoto University, 5-1 Oe-honmachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 862-0973, Japan f Program for Leading Graduate Schools, Health Life Science: Interdisciplinary and Glocal Oriented (HIGO) Program, Kumamoto University, Japan Received 27 April 2018, Revised 5 September 2018, Accepted 25 September 2018, Available online 27 September 2018. crossmark-logo Show less https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.09.031Get rights and content Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance The genus Vanda (Family: Orchidaceae) comprises about 73 species mainly distributed in Southeast Asia. Plants belonging to this genus are being used in the traditional medicine systems in Asian countries specially in India, Nepal, China and Bangladesh. Aim of the review The aim of this work was to review the scientific work about medicinal orchids of the genus Vanda regarding their traditional uses, reported bioactive components, and pharmacological activities. Materials and methods The information related to traditional uses, pharmacological activities, and bioactive compounds was systematically collected from the scientific literature databases including SciFinder, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar, published books and conference proceedings. Results The literature survey revealed diverse traditional uses of different species of Vanda, mainly against indigestion, wounds, hepatitis, dyspepsia, bronchitis, piles, rheumatism, and bone fracture. However, only few of them are investigated scientifically for their chemical constituents and pharmacological activities. Bioactive compounds including eucomic acid derivatives, phenanthrene derivatives and other phenolic compounds are reported from Vanda species. Different extracts were so far evaluated for number of pharmacological activities including neuroprotective, anti-aging, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, membrane stabilizing, wound healing and hepato-protective activities. Conclusion Vanda spp. are of much significance as ornamental flowers, but also used widely in traditional medicines and have potential for their diverse pharmacological activities. However, many members of the genus Vanda need further detailed studies regarding chemical constituents and mechanism-based pharmacological activities. Similarly, further studies should also focus on the conservation, cultivation and sustainable utilization of these species. Graphical abstract fx1 Download high-res image (288KB)Download full-size image