Bioactive compounds from Prosopis species as potential oxidative stress and inflammation modulators: an update on mechanisms

Oxidative stress and inflammation processes are involved in most diseases and illnesses. Many herbal remedies have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and have been used since ancient times as traditional medicine. Species of the genus Prosopis are one of these herbal remedies that grow in arid, semiarid, subtropical, and tropical areas of the world. Paste, gum, and smoke from pods and leaves of Prosopis plants are traditionally used to treat diseases related to oxidative stress and inflammation. This review aims to provide up-to-date information on Prosopis plants as oxidative stress and inflammation modulators. Relevant information was collected from researching scientific databases such as PubMed/Medline, Wiley, Web of Science and Springer. Folk medicinal applications and biologically active molecules of Prosopis spp., and its derivatives, have been collected paying attention to studies that used verified markers of oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity and inflammation. Future studies are needed to deepen more pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and structure-activity relationships of phytochemicals isolated from Prosopis species.