An Extensive Review on Genus 'Tabebuia', Family Bignoniaceae: Phytochemistry and Biological Activities (1967 to 2018)

Thirteen Tabebuia species (family Bignoniaceae) have been reported in the literature to have pharmacological activity, or there have been reports of secondary active metabolites. The literature was collected from 1967 to 2018. This genus has great phytochemical diversity since it has over 163 natural compounds that have been extracted including; iridoids (36), phenolic acids & their derivatives (32), phenyl propanoids & phenyl ethanoids (7), lignans & neolignans (14), isocoumarins (7), flavonoids (14), quinones & naphthoquinones (50), sterols (2) and triterpene (1). Tabebuia avellanedae is currently the most investigated species. Quinones and naphthoquinones were the most frequently isolated compounds (49 compounds) from Tabebuia genus and they showed various pharmacological activities for example cytotoxic, antioxidant, fungicidal and analgesic effects. Therefore, they are a good source of new compounds with significant biological activities.