Abstract

CLEOME PLANTS OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE: SMELLY, BEAUTIFUL AND MEDICINALLY ACTIVE. A REVIEW

Abdullatif Azab*

Abstract

The Cleomaceae plant family, consists of two genera, Cleomella and Cleome, and only the second is present in Israel and Palestine, where five species grow wild, and they will be discussed in this review article. These five Cleome plants are stinky, and this might be the reason of their very limited use in traditional medicine. On the contrary, modern research studied these plants and the number of publications is relatively sufficient. Published activities are quite diverse, so several review articles were also published. Some discuss the Cleome genus while others focus on single species. By far, our review is the most comprehensive. In addition to taxonomy, archeology and ethnomedicinal uses of these plants, published results of modern research will be presented and discussed. Important natural product contained in these plants will be presented. In the final part of this article, conclusions and future research possibilities will be highlighted.

Keywords: Cleomaceae, Cleome, smelly, ethnomedicine, chemical composition, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic.