pharmaceuticals Review From Ethnomedicine to Plant Biotechnology and Machine Learning: The Valorization of the Medicinal Plant Bryophyllum sp. 1,2, 1,2, 3,4 Pascual García-Pérez y , Eva Lozano-Milo y, Mariana Landin and Pedro P. Gallego 1,2,* 1 Applied Plant & Soil Biology, Plant Biology and Soil Science Department, Biology Faculty, University of Vigo, E-36310 Vigo, Spain;
[email protected] (P.G.-P.);
[email protected] (E.L.-M.) 2 CITACA—Agri-Food Research and Transfer Cluster, University of Vigo, E-32004 Ourense, Spain 3 Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Grupo I+D Farma (GI-1645), Pharmacy Faculty, University of Santiago, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
[email protected] 4 Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain * Correspondence:
[email protected] Both authors contributed equally in this manuscript. y Received: 10 November 2020; Accepted: 2 December 2020; Published: 4 December 2020 Abstract: The subgenus Bryophyllum includes about 25 plant species native to Madagascar, and is widely used in traditional medicine worldwide. Different formulations from Bryophyllum have been employed for the treatment of several ailments, including infections, gynecological disorders, and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, neurological and neoplastic diseases. Two major families of secondary metabolites have been reported as responsible for these bioactivities: phenolic compounds and bufadienolides. These compounds are found in limited amounts in plants because they are biosynthesized in response to different biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, novel approaches should be undertaken with the aim of achieving the phytochemical valorization of Bryophyllum sp., allowing a sustainable production that prevents from a massive exploitation of wild plant resources.