A narrative review on the anti-inflammatory efficacy of Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. and its various applications

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. is an ancient therapeutic plant with many bioactive compounds responsible for its pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-bacterial, etc. Studies have revealed that medicinal plants are abundantly involved in developing novel drugs due to their easy availability and lesser side effects from ancient times. The anti-inflammatory drugs available in the market, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can cause side effects, and from the future aspects, they are considered to be harmful to human health. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an anti-inflammatory drug with lower toxicity. The points of highlight for this review include various compounds naturally present in medicinal plants responsible for inflammation inhibition and their working mechanisms. One such wild edible plant having health, pharmacological, and therapeutic properties is B. spectabilis Willd. The functioning of its various phytochemical compounds, including quinones, flavonoids, and terpenes, such as quercetin, terpene-4-ol, present in leaves and bracts of B. spectabilis Willd. along with selenium nanoparticles, are discussed in detail.