Potential Medicinal Uses of Plants From the Asteraceae (Compositae) Family in Pakistan: A Literature Review Based Meta-analysis

Introduction

Asteraceae is the largest flowering plant family with ∼19 11 genera and ∼32 913 species worldwide used in medicine and diet.

Methods

Data on Asteraceae flora was assembled from Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, SciELO, Science Direct, Web of Science, books, and dissertations using specific keywords.

Results

Overall, 198 species from 78 genera of Asteraceae with traditional uses have been reported in Pakistan with Artemisia (16.6%), Launea (4%), Sassurea (4%), Conyza (3.5%), Lactuca, and Taraxacum (3%) being widely used genera. Maximum studies were reported for Artemisia from Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) following Sonchus from Punjab, Taraxamum and Xanthium from KPK. Herb was the dominant life form (86.88%) following shrubs (9.59%) and subshrubs (3.53%). Highly used plant parts include whole plant (46.96%), leaves (46.46%), and flowers (23.23%) with 12 preparation methods including decoction (64.64%), powder (29.79%), and paste (25.25%) maximally consumed orally (55%). The ethnomedicinal uses of Asteraceae were reported against ∼126 diseases specifically against gastrointestinal problems (70 species), fever (63 species), and skin diseases (50 species).

Conclusions

The baseline data from Pakistan provide comprehensive indigenous knowledge about Asteracea species against different diseases. The documentation of ethnobotany of rare species from unexplored areas of Pakistan is recommended to avoid the loss of traditional knowledge. Further toxicologic evaluation of Asteraceae species with emphasis on heavy metals profile could be a possible research line.