Chemical constituents of the oilseed crop Ricinus communis and their pharmacological activities: A review

Ricinus communis L. agronomic importance has stimulated a diverse set of studies related to pharmacological activities of extracts and compounds isolated from this plant. Phytochemical studies have shown that this species possesses a wide diversity of chemical compounds that presents relevant pharmacological activities. This review discusses 83 compounds that were isolated from different tissues of R. communis, which includes alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, benzoic acid derivatives, coumarins, tocopherols, terpenoids and fatty acids. The potential to inhibit or prevent bacterial and fungal growth is the most extensively studied pharmacological activity of R. communis extracts, but many other activities are attributed to them, such as cytotoxicity, antioxidant, insecticidal, antiasthmatic, anti-inflammatory, and many others. Pharmacological activities of R. communis extracts and isolated compounds are discussed herein, and structure -activity relationships are presented when appropriate. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.