Updated review of potential medicinal genetic resources in the USDA, ARS, PGRCU industrial and legume crop germplasm collections

摘要

Twenty-two health functional legumes and industrial crops contain several phytochemicals and extracts which have potential use as medicinal plants or functional foods in the United States and other countries worldwide. The objective of this study was to present a review of several legume species in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit's (PGRCU) collection for potential use as non-traditional human and veterinary medicinal plants. Specific phytochemicals and extracts from various plant organs will be identified and discussed from these legumes and industrial crops. Potential phyto-pharmaceuticals including flavonoids, glycosides, phenolics, cliotides, steroids, and saponin from butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) flowers, seed coats, and roots; saponin, steroids, anthro-quinones, terpinoids, flavonoids, and phlabotanin from Indigofera cassioides Rottler ex DC. leaves; dequelin, dehydrodeguelin, rotenol, rotenone, tephrosin, and sumatrol from hyacinth bean [Lablab purpureus (L) Sweet] seeds and roots; L-dopa from velvetbean (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. and Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W. Wight seeds; pachyerosin from jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb. seeds; vitexin from blue wiss [Teramnus labialis (L.f.) Spreng] aerial parts and flavonol glycoside from stems; caffeic, ferulic, cinnamic acids, and kaempferol from mothbean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal sprouts; 7S globulins from mungbean (V. radiate (L.) R. Wilczek seeds; defensin, unguilin, trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitor, 7S globulins from cowpea (V. unguiculata (L.) Walp seeds, and plant extracts. These phytochemicals and extracts have been shown to have multiple potential uses including antifungal, antibacterial, anti-asthmatic, anti-tuberculosis, anti-malaria, Parkinson's disease management, anti-cancer, antioxidant, oxidative stress reduction, cholesterol reduction, anti-Leishinania amazonensi, anti-breast cancer, antiinflammatory, skin disease inhibition, reducing blood pressure, immunostimulation, myocardial ischemia protection, anthelmintic, improve eye surface protection from dry eye symptoms, and preventing oral bacteria and kidney damage. These species could provide the human and veterinary medicinal and functional food industries with valuable health products and can be used by other scientist's and breeders for the development of unique germplasm and/or advanced cultivars with one or more of these traits. Furthermore, many more plant species in the Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit (PGRCU) collection need to be evaluated for the identification, quantification, and variability of potentially and very valuable health traits which are currently unknown.