Chemical Constituents, Ethnomedicinal Uses, Pharmacology, and Toxicity of Dysphania Ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants, Formerly Chenopodium Ambrosioides L.

Background: Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants is an aromatic herb native to South America but also distributed widely throughout Africa and Europe. This plant is traditionally used to treat various ailments including pain and swellings, flu, parasitic diseases and is used as an analgesic, antipyretic, and wound healing. Phytochemical analyses of D. ambrosioides revealed the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, fatty acids, and miscellaneous compounds, among others, which might be responsible for its modern pharmacological actions.

Objective: The present work summarizes recent developments on phytochemistry, ethnomedicinal use, pharmacology, and toxicity of D. ambrosioides. A critical assessment of the literature information of D. ambrosioides is also presented.

Methods: The available information on D. ambrosioides was collected through libraries and electronic databases [Scifinder, ACS, Scielo, Science direct, Pubmed (National Library of Medicine), Wiley, Springer, PROTA, Web of Science, Google Web, Yahoo search and Google scholar] from respective inception until January 2021.

Results: More than 150 compounds, including terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, fatty acids, and miscellaneous compounds, etc., were identified from D. ambrosioides. D. ambrosioides exhibited a wide range of pharmacological activities, including antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, anticancer, insecticidal, antigiardial, among others. Metal nanoparticles synthesized from D. ambrosioides extracts presented enhanced pharmacological activities as compared to the crude plant extracts counterparts.

Conclusion: D. ambrosioides is a promising medicinal plant, however, more in vivo experiments, cytotoxicity tests, and mechanisms of actions of its extracts and compounds are recommended to transubstantiate the ethnomedicinal claims of this plant into scientific rationale-based information.