Study on Chemical Compounds and Plant Bioactivity of Rhinacanthus sp - Review Article

There are only 10 species that have been identified from the genus Rhinacantus, but only Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kurz (RK) has been found in published studies. This shrub’s roots, stems, and leaves have been used in traditional medicine to treat dermatitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, herpes, hepatitis, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, leprosy, scurvy, and a number of skin diseases.

This study summarizes research on the chemical compounds contained in the RK plant and their bioactivity.

A total of 80 articles including original research papers, books, downloaded book chapters and 50 articles (most of them relevant to the topic) were selected to write the study articles. The articles are rejected because they are irrelevant.

Naphthoquinone analogues are the main bioactive compounds contained in the RK. Apart from that, there are also anthraquinone compounds, lignin, flavonoids, steroids, and terpenoids. Various extracts and compounds have been found to have biological activity. Naphthoquinone: known as rhinacanthin-C and -D, extracted from RK has been reported to have potent anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic activity with α-glycosidase inhibitors, and antivirus. RK showed several other characteristic pharmacological effects such as inhibitor of platelet aggregation, antibacterial, allergy, antifungal, anticancer, and so on.

In the future, exploration of the Rhinacanthus sp. plant needs to be done because there are still many parts of this plan that have not been studied for its application as modern medicine.