Abstract：
Cynometra L. is a Fabaceae genus that is widely distributed throughout the tropics, consisting of tropical forest trees with ecological and economic importance since they are used as food and herbal medicines by the populations of their natural habitats. Our goal is to provide a review of the research data concerning the potential of this botanical genus as a source of herbal medicines and secondary metabolites that are useful for human health. To that end, scientific databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched using the following terms: Cynometra, medicine, chemical, biological activity, toxicity, and “AND” as the Boolean connector. Eleven Cynometra species (9.7%) were reported to be used in traditional medicine to treat different ailments. A total of 185 secondary metabolites of various chemical classes, mainly flavonoids and terpenoids, were identified in eight Cynometra species (7.1%). Vitexin was the only flavonoid identified as bioactive in the sequence of bioguided studies on this botanical genus. Ten species (8.8%) were submitted to in vitro and in vivo biological activity assays. The main evaluated activities were in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities, but no human clinical trials or safety data about this genus were found. Cynometra cauliflora and Cynometra ramiflora were the most studied species. The present work confirms the use of Cynometra species as a source of medicinal plants. However, more experimental studies must be conducted to better understand this botanical genus’s usefulness as a source of raw materials for pharmaceutical use.
摘要：
CynometraL.是豆科属，广泛分布在整个热带地区，由具有生态和经济重要性的热带森林树木组成，因为它们被自然栖息地的人口用作食物和草药。我们的目标是提供有关该植物属作为对人类健康有用的草药和次级代谢产物来源的潜力的研究数据的综述。为此,科学数据库,包括PubMed,科学直接，ISIWebofScience,Scopus,和谷歌学者，使用以下术语进行搜索：Cynometra，医学,化学,生物活性,毒性,和“AND”作为布尔连接器。据报道，传统医学中使用了11种Cynometra（9.7％）来治疗不同的疾病。共有185种不同化学类别的次生代谢产物，主要是类黄酮和萜类，在8种Cynometra物种中鉴定（7.1％）。Vitexin是在该植物属的生物技术研究序列中唯一被鉴定为具有生物活性的类黄酮。对10种（8.8％）进行了体外和体内生物活性测定。主要评价活性为体外抗氧化，抗菌，细胞毒性，和体内抗炎活性，但没有发现该属的人体临床试验或安全性数据。Cynometra和Cynometra是研究最多的物种。目前的工作证实了将Cynometra物种用作药用植物的来源。然而,必须进行更多的实验研究，以更好地了解这种植物属作为制药原料的有用性。
