title: Chemistry and biology of genus Vismia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many herbal remedies have been employed in the treatment and management of various human ailments since the beginning of human civilization. Vismia is an extensive genus of the family Hypericaceae and consists of small trees inhabiting the tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America. Within the framework of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups project, three Vismia species were studied for their potential anticancer activity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This review is an extensive study of the available scientific literature published and comprises of the ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and therapeutic potential of genus of plants under the umbrella Vismia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present review includes 134 natural products with 47 references compiled from the major databases, viz., Chemical Abstracts, Science Direct, SciFinder, PubMed, Dr. Dukes Phytochemical and Ethnobotany, CIMER, and InteliHealth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An exhaustive survey of the accessed literature revealed that flavonoids, flavanols, xanthones, anthraones, anthraquinones, benzophenones, lignans, steroids, monoterpenes and triterpenes constituted the major classes of phytoconstituents of this genus. Pharmacological reports revealed that it is used for skin diseases such as dermatitis, leprosy, syphilis, herpes, scabies and eczemas, and as an anticancer for human breast, CNS, and lung cancer cell lines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genus Vismia plants seem to hold great potential for an in-depth investigation towards discovering biological activities, especially for the treatment of cancers affecting our society. Through this review, the authors hope to attract the attention of natural product researchers throughout the world to focus on the unexplored potential of Vismia plants, with the view of developing new formulations with an improved therapeutic value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nizwa, Birkat Al-Mouz, Sultanate of Oman, Nizwa, Oman. Hidayat110@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hidayat
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Javid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Harrasi
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saleem
authors.forename: Ivan R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Teunis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van Ree
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghulam
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002489:Central America; D028084:Clusiaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts