A Review on Traditional Uses and Pharmacological Importance of Genus Elaeagnus Species

Family Elaeagnaceae is also known as oleaster family having three genera: Hippophae, Shepherdia and Elaeagnus, and about 70–80 species found worldwide. The multipurpose uses of genus Elaeagnus, their pharmacological significances and diverse chemical composition make them worthy of investigation and exploration for botanists and phytochemists. This critical review summarizes the botanical distribution, phytochemical constituents, and biological activities of various species of genus Elaeagnus. The online published material/papers available at different search engines were studied to compile this review. The existing literature available on search engines like Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer, Elsevier, Scopus, Taylor and Francis, ACS publications, Google Scholar and Wiley On-line Library, was screened to collect relevant data. Elaeagnus species are widely used to treat a number of health issues due to their God gifted phytochemical compositions having great beneficial health applications. Phytochemical and biological evaluation studies have revealed the presence of essential chemical constituents like flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, terpenoids, lignanoids, organic acids, coumarins, alkaloids, steroids, vitamin C, lycopene, and polyphenols in Elaeagnus species that are responsible for their remarkable observed biological activities like antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, muscle relaxant effect, anti-diarrheal, antinociceptive, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-amnesic activities. This review presents the importance of some species of genus Elaeagnus in terms of their traditional medicinal uses, phytochemical composition as well as potential pharmacological properties. However, bio-guided isolation studies are needed to understand the role of a particular compound in the observed biological activities.