Received: 4 July 2019 Revised: 22 October 2019 Accepted: 28 October 2019 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6550 REVIEW Malva species: Insights on its chemical composition towards pharmacological applications Javad Sharifi‐Rad1 | Guiomar Melgar‐Lalanne2 | Alan Javier Hernández‐Álvarez3 | Yasaman Taheri4,5 | Shabnum Shaheen6 | Dorota Kregiel7 | Hubert Antolak7 | Ewelina Pawlikowska7 | Milka Brdar‐Jokanović8 | Jovana Rajkovic9 | Tahereh Hosseinabadi10 | Branka Ljevnaić‐Mašić11 | Navid Baghalpour4 | Maryam Mohajeri4 | Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou12 | Natália Martins13,14 1 Zabol Medicinal Plants Research Center, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Malvaceae family is typical from the Mediterranean region, contains 240 genera and Iran more than 4,200 species. They are most commonly used as ornamental plants, 2 Instituto de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, México although they can also be conceived as a food resource and remedy for various dis- 3 School of Food Science and Nutrition, eases, such as digestive, respiratory, genitourinary, throat infections, and skeletal University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK and skin disorders, as also injuries where they are profoundly applied for skin care 4 Phytochemistry Research Center, Shahid and as antiseptic and demulcent. They also possess diuretic, lenitive, spasmolytic, Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran and laxative effects, besides to be used as antidiarrheal. Thus, the present review pro- 5 Department of Pharmacology and vides in‐depth data on Malva spp. potential applications and phytochemical composi- Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, tion for food and pharmaceutical industries. Habitat and cultivation conditions and Tehran, Iran the clinical reports related to its biological effects are also emphasized. Malva spp. 6 Department of Botany, Lahore College for possess a wide variety of chemical constituents (such as polysaccharides, coumarins, Women University, Lahore, Pakistan 7 Institute of Fermentation Technology and flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, terpenes, and tannins) found in different plant Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, organs, especially in leaves and flowers, connected to their biological activity. In gen- Lodz, Poland eral, Malva spp. have rather moderate antimicrobial activity, high antiinflammatory 8 Alternative Crops and Organic Production Department, Institute of Field and Vegetable and wound healing activities, strong antioxidant activity, and anticancer properties. Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia Results from in vitro and in vivo experiments encourage more in‐depth studies, 9 Institute of Pharmacology, Clinical namely clinical trials, towards to improve knowledge on the use of Malva spp. for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, the treatment of various health conditions in humans. Serbia 10 Department of Pharmacognosy and KEYWORDS Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, habitat, Malva, pharmacological properties, phytochemistry, traditional uses Tehran, Iran 11 Department of Field and Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia 12 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon 13 Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Phytotherapy Research. 2019;1–22. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ptr © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 2 SHARIFI‐RAD ET AL. 14 Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Correspondence Javad Sharifi‐Rad, Zabol Medicinal Plants Research Center, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran. Email: [email protected] Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon. Email: [email protected] Natália Martins, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Email: [email protected] Funding information NORTE2020‐Northern Regional Operational Program, Grant/Award Number: NORTE‐01‐ 0145‐FEDER‐000012; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Grant/Award Number: UID/BIM/04293/2013 1 | INTRODUCTION (monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, and sesquiterpenoids), enzymes, coumarins, vitamins, and fatty acids/sterols have been pointed as the Malva genus comprises a widespread group of tropical and temperate most effective and bioactive ingredients (Shehata & Galal, 2014). plants belonging to the Malvaceae family (Zohary, 1987). This genus Thus, given the promissory aspects highlighted above, the present includes at least 25–30 different species, widespread throughout the review aims to provide in‐depth data on the potential applications of temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe Malva plants and as well as their phytochemical compositions for food as also in China, India, central of Asia, Mediterranean, South America, and pharmaceutical industries. Moreover, it covers the habitat and cul- America, and Mexico (M. Ray, 1998). Malva sylvestris L. is the most tivation conditions, clinical trials performed using Malva plants, and important Malva species. These plants grow quickly and are used as revises the main biological effects reported so far. garden flowers, whereas some of them grow as invasive weeds, espe- cially in the United States, where are not native. The cultivation of this 2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS plant is done by seed and in early spring (Vogl et al., 2013). The young leaves of the plant that look like lettuce sound are processed as Data on Malva spp. were collected, analyzed, and assessed regarding Greens in the west and used as rice stuffing (Veshkurova et al., 2006). their habitat, cultivation, medicinal use, phytochemistry, and pharma- Malva species have been used in medicine since ancient times. In cology effects using Google scholar, science direct, Entrez PubMed, Catalonia (Spain), the leaves are used to treat urticaria or Urtica and among others. dioica L. (Vogl et al., 2013), whereas in Austrian, medicine has been used as tea to treat skin disorders and respiratory and gastrointesti- nal tract infections (Vogl et al., 2013). In traditional Iranian medicine, 3 | HABITAT AND CULTIVATION OF MALVA leaves are used to treat cut wound, eczema, dermal infected PLANTS wounds, bronchitis, digestive problems, and inflammatory disorders in Unani medicinal literature (Henry & Piperno, 2008). Nowadays, Among the 4,200 species belonging to the Malvaceae family, Malva the researches on Malva plants have shown critical therapeutic prop- spp. are in the group of the economically important ones (Kintzios, erties, such as antiulcerogenic, antioxidant, anticancer, skin tissue 2002). Besides in its natural habitats, Malva plants also grow as weeds integrity, and antiinflammatory (Barros, Carvalho, & Ferreira, 2010; of many agricultural plants or cultivated in gardens and fields. The Quave, Plano, Pantuso, & Bennett, 2008). Many species of this name originates from the Greek word “malasso,” referring to their genus have shown to be effective in cough, bladder ulcers, intestinal emollient properties, mostly attributed to the mucous canals, cavities, infections, colitis, tonsillitis, gastroenteritis, as cholesterol and lipid‐ and epidermal cells located in both roots and aboveground plant parts. lowering agent, as antihypertensive, antioxidant, analgesics, emol- Malva species are annual, biennial, or perennial terrestrial herbs, wide- lient, pectoral girdle, and on arteriosclerosis treatment (Abdel‐Ghani, spread almost all over the world, however, predominately inhabiting Hassan, & El‐Shazly, 2013). Europe, Asia, North Africa, and America (Figure 1). When looking at chemical composition, amino acids Those found in Australia (M. rotundifolia L., M. parviflora L., M. derivatives/proteins, phenolic compounds, mucilages, terpenoids verticillata L., and M. sylvestris) are primarily considered naturalized SHARIFI‐RAD ET AL. 3 FIGURE 1 Distribution of Malva species (CalPhotos, 2012) [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] weeds. The origin of Malva species is uncertain, and as the plausible malvone A, malvaline, scopoletin, polyphenols, niacin, folic acid, vita- centers of diversity are listed the regions of the Mediterranean and mins A, C, and E, and tannins (Cutillo, D'Abrosca, Dellagreca, South‐Western Asia. Vegetative parts are commonly cover with hairs; Fiorentino, & Zarrelli, 2006). Other important flavonoids constituents indumentum is variable. Leaves are simple, alternate, more or less found in M. sylvestris are gossypetin 3‐sulphate‐8‐O‐β‐D‐glucoside, palmatisect, with stipules. Flowers are actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, hypolaetin 3′‐sulphate, and three 8‐hydroxyflavonoids (Flack, 1983; with five sepals and five petals. Bracteoles form an epicalyx and fruit Table 1). Terpenoids, such as sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and mono- are a schizocarp with numerous one‐seeded mericarps. Depending terpenes, were also present in M. sylvestris (Flack, 1983). Indeed, gas on classification, there are up to 40 species within the genus (Barker, chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis of M. sylvestris 1977; Hanf, 1983; Michael, 2006; M. F. Ray, 1995; Vadivel, Sriram, leaves methanolic extract showed the presence of 31 major peaks, & Brindha, 2016; Valdés, 2011). with components including 2‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)piperidine, 1‐ Most of Malva species are nitrophilous plants, requiring nitrogen‐ butanamine, 2‐methyl‐N‐(2 methylbutylidene), 4‐(pyrrolidin‐2‐