Phytochemical Properties and Therapeutic Applications of Terminalia Species

Species of the genus Terminalia, widely distributed across tropical and subtropical regions, have long been valued in traditional medicine for their rich array of bioactive phytochemicals. Prominent constituents include hydrolysable tannins such as chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid and corilagin, simple phenolics like gallic and ellagic acids, a spectrum of flavonoids and diverse terpenoids. Advanced analytical approaches have elucidated the complexity of these extracts: ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry and molecular networking workflows have revealed over a hundred distinct antioxidant and antimicrobial constituents in fruits of Terminalia chebula and related species. Extraction technologies—from conventional Soxhlet and maceration to microwave-assisted and ultrasonic-assisted methods—have been optimised for yield, sustainability and selectivity. Pharmacokinetic investigations in animal models indicate prolonged systemic retention of key tannins, supporting their potential in clinical applications. Therapeutically, Terminalia extracts exert broad antioxidant effects, mitigate inflammatory cascades via inhibition of iNOS and COX-2, modulate neurochemical changes in diabetic neuropathy models and suppress proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. Recent studies further demonstrate synergistic antibacterial activity with conventional antibiotics against resistant pathogens. Together, these findings underscore both the global significance of Terminalia species as a source of multifunctional natural products and the need to standardise quality control and dosage for translation into evidence-based herbal therapeutics.

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Phytochemical Properties and Therapeutic Applications of Terminalia Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in phytochemical properties and therapeutic applications of terminalia species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hydrolysable tannin: Polyphenolic compound yielding gallic or ellagic acid on hydrolysis.

Flavonoid: Polyphenolic secondary metabolite with antioxidant properties.

UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS: Analytical platform combining ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography, ion mobility separation and high-resolution mass spectrometry for comprehensive phytochemical profiling.

Soxhlet extraction: Continuous extraction technique using reflux to exhaustively leach analytes from solid samples with a solvent.

Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): Lowest concentration of an antimicrobial agent that prevents visible growth of a microorganism.

Molecular networking: Computational method organising mass spectral data by structural similarity to facilitate compound annotation.

References

1. The Genus Terminalia (Combretaceae): An Ethnopharmacological, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review. Natural Products and Bioprospecting (2019).
2. Global Profiling of the Antioxidant Constituents in Chebulae Fructus Based on an Integrative Strategy of UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS, MS/MS Molecular Networking, and Spectrum-Effect Correlation. Antioxidants (2023).
3. A simple, cost-effective, and sustainable method for extraction and quantification of chebulagic acid from Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. using RP-HPLC: A comparative study. Green Analytical Chemistry (2024).
4. Pharmacokinetics of active compounds of a Terminalia chebula Retz. Ethanolic extract after oral administration rats using UPLC-MS/MS. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2023).
5. Evaluation of the biological efficiency of Terminalia chebula fruit extract against neurochemical changes induced in brain of diabetic rats: an epigenetic study. Inflammopharmacology (2024).
6. Terminalia chebula Fructus Inhibits Migration and Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Production of Inflammatory Mediators in RAW 264.7. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015).
7. Combinations of Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. and Terminalia chebula Retz. Extracts with Selected Antibiotics Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: Bioactivity and Phytochemistry. Antibiotics (2024).