The genus Pouteria: a review of advances in phytochemical elucidation and its pharmacological properties

The genus Pouteria (family Sapotaceae) is traditionally used for gastrointestinal, inflammatory, and microbial issues, and has great nutritional applications because of the variety of fruits it contains. Despite its versatile applications, comprehensive research on Pouteria remains outdated, necessitating an integrative review of recent studies exploring its phytochemical evidence and biological activities. An unrestricted search in various databases (Jan/2009 to Aug/2022) focused on the genus “ Pouteria ”. Despite this genus having 325 recognized species, few studies have evaluated their bioactive potential, including antioxidant, anticancer, hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive, as well as their potential for treatment of Alzheimer disease. Regarding phytochemical evaluation, among the few substances isolated were a high number of terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, saponins, and others. In addition, owing to the high potential for fruit utilization, several primary metabolites were identified, which presented qualitative and quantitative diversity among species with the interests of the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, this review provides information about phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the species of Pouteria . Given the shallow and incomplete results for several species, there is a demonstrated need for new studies encompassing all plant parts of Pouteria species, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of their medicinal potential.