The ethnobotanical properties and medicinal application of essential oils of Ziziphora persica Bunge from different habitats: A review

ABSTRACT The genus Ziziphora of the family Lamiaceae is well known for the medicinal properties of its species. Ziziphora persica is an edible medicinal plant, which is widely distributed in countries of Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Azaerbaidzhan and is famed as a wild vegetable with notable aroma and flavor. In Iranian folk medicine, Ziziphora species has been also used as infusions for various purposes such as sedative, stomachic and carminative among others. The genus Ziziphora belongs to the Lamiaceae family consists of four species (Z. clinopodioides, Z. capitata, Z. persica and Z. tenuior) that widespread all over Iran. Ziziphora with common Persian name ‘kakuti-e kuhi’ comprised nine subspecies native to Iran. The composition and antibacterial and antioxidant activity of the essential oil and various extracts of Ziziphora persica were reported. This review presents and overview on the Eco-phytochemistry and Ethnobotany knowledge of Ziziphora persica and provides a deeper insight into phytochemistry of this specie. Relevant data were obtained through systematic electronic searches from various scientific databases including the institute of scientific information (ISI)-web of science, mendely desktop, google scholar, scopus, ISC, Pubmed, other relevant texts and local books. This review is concerned with characterization of chemical profiles of essential oils, extracts and volatiles, along with relevant biological and phytochemical properties of Ziziphora persica over the 32-year period, 1988–2020. A variety of Eco-phytochemistry and Ethnobotany properties of the Ziziphora persica has been documented, and phytochemicals of the essential oils of this specie has been identified.