Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Nutritional Potential of Medicinal Plants from Asteraceae Family

The Asteraceae family has a worldwide distribution with a special focus on the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and Asia Minor. It contains approximately 33,000 plant species with over “1600 to 1700” genera worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates. Over the centuries, Asteraceae plants have been used as medicinal plants throughout the world. There are several well-known taxa in the Asteraceae family, including lettuce, chicory, artichoke, daisy, and dandelion, which have been used for centuries in food and medicine. The family members are quite diverse, but they all share a common chemical composition. For example, inulin is a natural polysaccharide with strong prebiotic properties and is found in all species. The majority of species are annual, biennial, or perennial herbaceous plants, and they can be found all over the world. This family includes astringents, anti-inflammatory drugs, diaphoretics, nerve tonics, laxatives, wound healing products, blood flow disorders, headaches, pains, flatulence, dysentery, hemorrhoids, ulcers, and cachexia-causing illnesses. In addition to their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic properties, some of these species also possess high antioxidant properties, as demonstrated in studies using extracts of roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. The Asteraceae species whose natural antioxidant properties have the greatest potential for use in the medicine, cosmetics, and food industries are identified. Asteraceae species have been reported to contain flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarins, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and triterpenes, and sterols. In this way, various species of Asteraceae plants have been identified and collected that have proven effective and useful for treating a variety of human diseases. This manuscript describes the medicinal properties along with the peculiar phytoconstituents and pharmacological properties and nutritional potential of various Asteraceae plants