Abstract

RESEDACEAE PLANTS OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE – BRILLIANT COLORS AND UNIQUE CHEMISTRY

Abdullatif Azab*

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Abstract

The Resedaceae is a medium size plant family according to its global number of species, and in the reviewed region it is represented by four genera that include fifteen plant species. This review article will summarize and discuss the published research results of their biological-medicinal properties and chemical compositions. Our findings indicate that some species and some properties were reasonably studied while other species were never published for any activity-property. In addition, a brief taxonomical and archeological introduction will be presented followed by a summary of ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal uses. It is important to mention that some species of this plant family that grow outside of the reviewed region were extensively investigated but they will not be presented in this review article. Finally, in the discussion section, the coloration and dyeing properties of these plants and their products will be elaborated on in order to produce a comprehensive insight of this very important property of these plants.

Keywords: Resedaceae, archeobotany, ethnomedicinal uses, Ochradenus baccatus, Reseda lutea, Reseda luteola, chemical composition, dyeing natural products, luteolin, aminorex.