Phytochemical, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological properties of <i>Alibertia edulis</i> (Rich.) A. Rich. ex DC.: a review

Sampaio, Ana Patrícia Lima; Goneli, André Luis Duarte; Vieira, Maria do Carmo; Zárate, Néstor Antonio Heredia; Cardoso, Claudia Andrea Lima; Aguilera, Jorge González

doi:10.1590/0103-8478cr20240512

Alibertia edulis (Rich.) A. Rich. ex DC (Rubiaceae) is known in the Brazilian Cerrado usually as cerrado quince, marmalade or marmelada. This species has wide popular use, associated with anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, astringent, diuretic and antihypertensive action, among others, due to the presence of bioactive compounds with these biological activities. This study investigated documents using the Scientific Procedures and Rotationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol in academic databases (CAPES Journals Portal, Dimensions, Scopus, PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Web of Science ISI and Google Scholar). The 79 publications were grouped according to specificity: morphology, phytotherapy, phytotherapic, phytochemical activity, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological potential that explored bioactive compounds, biological activities and their medicinal applications. Six descriptors were used and categorized into classes of variables used in a Pearson correlation analysis. Pearson’s correlation showed a high positive correlation between reference and therapeutic indication (0.94, P < 0.001), with Brazil being the country where A. edulis is most studied. There was also a negative correlation between the method of administration and the country (-0.23), reference (-0.14) and therapeutic indication (-0.071), indicating that the methods of preparation most used in the six countries and the degree to which the seven parts of the plant are used influence the medicinal and food properties of A. edulis. In general, the data obtained confirmed the various drugs present in the leaves with antioxidant, antifungal and cytotoxic activities, while the diversity of new niches as raw material for different industrial segments was evident in the fruit.

Key words:
Rubiaceae; Cerrado; Hemeroplanes triptolemus ; associated traditional knowledge

Internship		Sub-stage
1 Assembly	1a Identification	Fields: medicinal plants, phytotherapy and herbal medicine, morphological aspects, phytochemical activity, study of ethnopharmacological and pharmacological potential. Type of font: → Included: articles, theses, dissertations, abstracts and book chapters in English, Spanish or Portuguese. → Excluded: preprints, annals, notes and errata. Source quality: CAPES Journal Portal, Scopus database, PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Web of Science ISI and Google Scholar.
	1b Acquisition of literature	Mechanism for searching and acquiring materials: Dimensions search by title, year of publication, search category and open access, CAPES Periodicals Portal. Research period: 1980 - 2024 Research keywords: Alibertia edulis Total number of articles returned: 120
2 Arrangement	2a Organization	Organization codes: ANZSRC and SDG.
	2b Purification of literature	Number of documents excluded 41: duplicates, non-empirical and unreviewed. Number of documents included 79 distributed as follows: 61 (77.20%) published between 1980 and 2017 and 18 (22.80%) between 2018 and 2024.
3 Evaluation	3a Evaluation	Analysis method: descriptive with a qualitative and quantitative approach.
	3b Literature reports	Summaries in the form of tables and figures.

References	Country	Therapeutic indication	Part of the plant used	Administration mode
FORERO, 1980	Colombia	Lactation stimulant	Epicarp fruit	No information
CORRÊA & PENA, 1984	Brazil	Flu	Fruit	Syrup
GURIM NETO, 1987	Brazil	Soothing	Leaf	Infusion
FERROATO & COELHO, 1996	Brazil	Anti-inflammatory	Immature fruit	Infusion
VIEIRA & MARTINS, 1996	Brazil	Pneumonia	Leaf Fruit Root	Infusion
ALMEIDA et al., 1998	Brazil	Treatment of ailments Poultice	Leaf	Decoction Compress
MORS, 2000	Brazil	Reduction of hernias	Leaf	Bath
DI STASI & HIRUMA-LIMA, 2002	Brazil	Treatment of ailments Poultice	Leaf	Decoction Compress
ROCHA & SILVA, 2002	Brazil	Against chickenpox	Fruit	Infusion
SANGALLI et al., 2002	Brazil	Blood circulation	Leaf	Infusion Bath
MATTA, 2003	Brazil	Stomach problems	Fruit	Macerated
ALVES et al., 2008	Brazil	Liver problems Dysentery	Leaf	Infusion
COE, 2008	Nicaragua	Avoiding postpartum pain Menstrual bleeding	Leaf Stem bark	Decoction Oral
SILVA et al., 2008	Brazil	Candida albicans Candida krusei Cryptococcus neoformans Leishmanicidal	Leaf Stem bark	Decoction
SVETAZ et al., 2010	Panama	Stimulates breast milk production Urinary antiseptic Antidiarrheal Healing	Stem bark	Decoction
GUPTA et al., 2011	Peru	Stimulates breast milk production Urinary antiseptic Antidiarrheal Healing	Stem bark	Decoction
MARQUES et al., 2013	Brazil	Candida albicans Candida krusei Pseudomonas aeruginosa Leishmanicidal	Leaf Ramos	Decoction
RIEDER, 2013	Brazil	Diabetes	Leaf	Infusion
MENEGATI, 2015	Brazil	Anti-tumor Hypoglycemic Antihypertensive	Leaf	Decoction
VIEIRA et al., 2015	Brazil	Rheumatism Pneumonia	Fruit Leaf Root	Infusion
AQUINO et al., 2017	Brazil	Antihypertensive Antidiuretic Hypotensive	Leaf	Decoction
GAIA & GOMES, 2017	Brazil	Diabetes	Leaf	Infusion
ZAMBRANA et al., 2017	Bolivia	Digestive	Leaf Fruit	Infusion
TOLOUEI et al., 2020	Brazil	Anti-tumor Hypoglycemic Antihypertensive	Leaf	Decoction
LESCANO et al., 2021	Brazil	Antiplatelet	Leaf	Decoction
SALDAÑA et al., 2024	Mexico	Diarrhea	Leaf	Oral

Qualitative Descriptors	Acronyms	Group of classes
References	R	1- ALMEIDA et al., 1998; 2- DI STASI & HIRUMA-LIMA, 2002; 3 - ALVES et al., 2008; 4 - AQUINO et al., 2017; 5- COE, 2008; 6- CORRÊA & PENA, 1984; 7- FERROATO & COELHO, 1996; 8- FORERO, 1980; 9- GURIM NETO, 1987; 10- LESCANO et al., 2021; 11- MARQUES et al., 2013; 12- MATTA, 2003; 13- MENEGATI, 2015; 14- TOLOUEI et al., 2020; 15- MORS, 2000; 16- RIEDER, 2013; 17- GAIA & GOMES, 2017; 18- ROCHA & SILVA, 2002; 19- SALDAÑA et al., 2024; 20- SANGALLI et al., 2002; 21- SILVA et al., 2008; 22- SVETAZ et al., 2010; 23- GUPTA et al., 2011; 24- VIEIRA & MARTINS, 1996; 25- VIEIRA et al., 2015; 26- ZAMBRANA et al., 2017
Country	C	1- Brazil; 2- Nicaragua; 3 - Colombia; 4 - Mexico; 5 - Panama; 6 - Peru; 7 - Bolivia
Therapeutic indication	IT	1- Treatment of conditions; 2 - Poultice; 3 - Hepatic; 4 - Dysentery; 5 - Antihypertensive; 6 - Antidiuretic; 7- Hypotensive; 8- Avoid postpartum pain; 9- Menstrual bleeding; 10- The flu; 11- Anti-inflammatory; 12- Lactation stimulant; 13- Soothing; 14- Antiplatelet; 15- Candida albicans; 16- Candida krusei; 17-Pseudomonas aeruginosa; 18-Leishmanicida; 19- Stomachic; 20- Antitumor; 21- Hypoglycemic; 22- Hernia; 23- Diabetes; 24- Chickenpox; 25- Diarrhea; 26- Blood circulation; 27- Cryptococcus neoformans; 28- Urinary antiseptic; 29- Antidiarrheal; 30- Healing; 31- Pneumonia; 32- Rheumatism; 33-Digestive
Part of the plant used	PPU	1 - Leave; 2 - Branches; 3 - Stem bark; 4 - Fruit; 5 - Immature fruit; 6 - Fruit epicarp; 7- Source
Administration mode	AM	1- Decoction; 2 - Infusion; 3 - In a hurry; 4 - Bath; 5 - Macerado; 6- Oral; 7 - Syrup; 8- No information
Types of knowledge	TK	1- Scientific; 2- Traditional

Phytochemical, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological properties of Alibertia edulis (Rich.) A. Rich. ex DC.: a review

Propriedades fitoquímica, etnofarmacológicos e farmacológicos de Alibertia edulis (Rich.) A. Rich. ex DC.: uma revisão