Myrtus communis L. (Myrtle): A comprehensive Review of its Folk uses, Medicinal uses, Historical perspective, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology

Abstract

Myrtus communis L. is a bushy, aromatic, ever-green shrub belongs to the family Myrtaceae, which is commonly distributed around the globe. The current review gather important information about its ethno-medicinal uses, historical perspective, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Myrtle. The review study was designed with the aim to gather information of Myrtle in addition to explore its ethno-medicinal, therapeutic potential, and future research opportunities. In current review, a total of 85 comprehensive research papers were reviewed and collected from various databases such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Research Gate, Science Direct, and PubMed. The results of this review indicate that Myrtle is mostly used for various ailments such as skin, respiratory, gastrointestinal, inflammatory, urinary, cardiovascular, neurological, and microbial infections. The previous literature reported that traditional therapists mostly used it in the form of herbal tea, and powder form. Moreover, Myrtle was reported to have high antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The study also reported that it has a strong antioxidant, cardiovascular, and therapeutic properties. There are a variety of phytochemical compounds reported and isolated in Myrtle plant such as phenols, alcohols, terpenoids, fatty acids, sterols, glycosides, carboxylic acids, flavonoids, and essential oils. The plant need sustainable cultivation, and conservation for its availability in medicinal, and commercial applications. Further, it is recommended, and invite young researchers to carry out further detailed investigation into their possible ethno-medicinal, ethno-pharmaceutical, toxicological, anti-aging, antidandruff, and anti-hair fall on this plant in order to provide reliable knowledge, and discover new drugs with low side effects as linked with modern medicines. The plant need sustainable cultivation, and conservation for its availability in medicinal, and commercial applications.