plants Review Pedicularis L. Genus: Systematics, Botany, Phytochemistry, Chemotaxonomy, Ethnopharmacology, and Other Claudio Frezza 1,* , Alessandro Venditti 2 , Chiara Toniolo 1, Daniela De Vita 1, Ilaria Serafini 2, Alessandro Ciccòla 2, Marco Franceschin 2, Antonio Ventrone 1, Lamberto Tomassini 1 , Sebastiano Foddai 1, Marcella Guiso 2, Marcello Nicoletti 1, Armandodoriano Bianco 2 and Mauro Serafini 1 1 Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0649912194 Received: 28 June 2019; Accepted: 12 August 2019; Published: 27 August 2019 Abstract: In this review, the relevance of the plant species belonging to the Pedicularis L. genus has been considered from different points of view. Particular emphasis was given to phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology, since several classes of natural compounds have been reported within this genus and many of its species are well known to be employed in the traditional medicines of many Asian countries. Some important conclusions on the chemotaxonomic and chemosystematic aspects of the genus have also been provided for the first time. Actually, this work represents the first total comprehensive review on this genus. Keywords: Pedicularis L. genus; Orobanchaceae family; phytochemistry; chemotaxonomy; ethnopharmacology 1. Systematics Pedicularis L. is a genus of hemiparasitic plants, originally included in the Scrophulariaceae family but now belonging to the Orobanchaceae family [1]. The rest of the systematic classification is the following: order Scrophulariales, subclass Asteridae, class Magnoliopsida, division Magnoliophyta, superdivision Spermatophyta, subkingdom Tracheobionta. The genus comprises 568 accepted species, 335 synonymous species, and 450 unresolved species [2].