Plants from the Annonaceous family acting on the Central Nervous System: A comprehensive review to identify potential species

Neurological diseases are a challenge to public health due to their lethal and disabling capacity. This group of illnesses includes stroke, epilepsy, dementia and various neurodegenerative diseases. The review focuses on plants from the Annonaceous family and their respective phytocompounds with activities on the Central Nervous System (CNS). The methodology applied in this study was to carry out a detailed literature review using the following web-based databases: Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct. Findings revealed 118 researches correlating the Annonaceous plants with action on CNS. Studies were found with more than ten genera of the Annonaceous family. In studies, neurotoxic activities were related to acetogenins, especially anonacin, and alkaloids. Anticonvulsant, anesthetic and anticholinesterase activities have also been described in different species and with compounds extracted from different parts of plants (root, fruit, leaf, stem). Knowledge of these activities adds to the exploration of the pharmacological potential of this family.