Botanical, Phytochemical, Anti-Microbial and Pharmaceutical Characteristics of Hawthorn (<em>Crataegus</em><em> monogyna</em> Jacq.), Rosaceae
Federico Martinelli,
Anna Perrone,
Sanaz Yousefi,
Alessio Papini,
Stefano Castiglione,
Francesco Guarino,
Angela Cicatelli,
Mitra Aelaei,
Neda Arad,
Mansour Gholami,
Seyed Alireza Salami
Affiliations
Federico Martinelli
Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Anna Perrone
Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Sanaz Yousefi
Department of Horticultural Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65178-38695, Iran
Alessio Papini
Department of Biology, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Stefano Castiglione
Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Francesco Guarino
Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Angela Cicatelli
Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Mitra Aelaei
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan 45371-38791, Iran
Neda Arad
School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Mansour Gholami
Department of Horticultural Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65178-38695, Iran
Seyed Alireza Salami
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 31587-77871, Iran
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) is a wild edible fruit tree of the genus Crataegus, one of the most interesting genera of the Rosaceae family. This review is the first to consider, all together, the pharmaceutical, phytochemical, functional and therapeutic properties of C. monogyna based on numerous valuable secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, vitamin C, glycoside, anthocyanin, saponin, tannin and antioxidants. Previous reviews dealt with the properties of all species of the entire genera. We highlight the multi-therapeutic role that C. monogyna extracts could have in the treatment of different chronic and degenerative diseases, mainly focusing on flavonoids. In the first part of this comprehensive review, we describe the main botanical characteristics and summarize the studies which have been performed on the morphological and genetic characterization of the C. monogyna germplasm. In the second part, the key metabolites and their nutritional and pharmaceutical properties are described. This work could be an essential resource for promoting future therapeutic formulations based on this natural and potent bioactive plant extract.
