A Comprehensive Review of Phytochemistry and Biological Activities ofQuercusSpecies

TheQuercusgenus provides a large amount of biomaterial with many applications in fields like pharmaceutics, cosmetics, and foodstuff areas. Due to the worldwide dissemination of the genus, many species were used for centuries in traditional healing methods or in the wine maturing process. This review aims to bring together the results about phytoconstituents from oak extracts and their biological applicability as antioxidants, antimicrobial, anticancer, etc. The literature data used in this paper were collected via PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct (2010-June 2020). The inclusion criteria were papers published in English, with information about phytoconstituents fromQuercusspecies (leaves, bark and seeds/acorns) and biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antiobesity, anti-acne vulgaris, antifungal, anticancer, antiviral, antileishmanial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory. The exclusion criteria were the research of other parts of theQuercusspecies (e.g., galls, wood, and twigs); lack of information about phytochemistry and biological activities; non-existentQuercusspecies reported by the authors. The most studiedQuercusspecies, in terms of identified biomolecules and biological activity, areQ. brantii,Q. infectoriaandQ. robur.TheQuercusspecies have been reported to contain several phytoconstituents. The main bioactive phytochemicals are phenolic compounds, volatile organic compounds, sterols, aliphatic alcohols and fatty acids. The,Quercusspecies are intensely studied due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities, provided by their phytochemical composition. The general conclusion is that oak extracts can be exploited for their biological activity and can be used in research fields, such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and medical.