Phytochemical composition and health properties of Lycium europaeum L.: A review

In recent years, Lycium genus have been distinguished as a favourable source of new compounds with several pharmacological activities. This work reviewed numerous studies conducted on Lycium europaeum especially in areas of its traditional medicine use as well as its phytochemistry and pharmacology. Researchgate, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and Scientific Information Databases were used to search the most recent evidence-based information on the terms ‘L. europaeum’, ‘Solonaceae’, ‘medicinal uses’, ‘phytochemical’, and ‘pharmacological activities’ up to 2019. Several ethnomedicinal writings recommend the use of L. europaeum for the treatment of throat, eczema, scabies, various eye ailments, animal bite, female infertility, skin burning, high blood pressure, diabetes, eczema, rheumatic, constipation, infectious diseases, kidney and liver disorders. L. europaeum has been reported to contain several phytochemicals, mainly phenolic acids flavonoids, fatty acids, polysaccharides, carotenoids, alkaloids, sterols, tocopherols and terpenoids. Extracts and phytochemicals of L. europaeum have been found to contain several biological capacities, namely antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, anti-acetylcholinesterase, antidiabetic, cytotoxicity, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective and hypolipidemic properties. This work will serve as a suitable data for further researches and applications of L. europaeum in foods and medicines.