A Review of the Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology of the Family Cleomaceae of Brazilian Origin

Introduction: The Cleomaceae Bercht. and J. Presl family consists of seven genera and 35 species found across Brazil. Studies have registered the use of species in traditional medicine and for wider purposes. Within this context, this review aims to provide updated, comprehensive, and categorised information on botanical, ethnobotanical, chemical, and pharmacological studies of Cleomaceae species in Brazil to identify their therapeutic potential and prompt future research opportunities.Methods: To this end, an integrative review analysing articles from different databases using different combinations of keywords in Portuguese and English was carried out. The search strategy was adapted to the selected databases following each of their search criteria. The Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR' were used to combine the terms. Articles published between 2001 and 2022 were included. Results: Around 90.9% of ethnobotanical studies found were carried out in the Northeast region. A total of eight plant species were identified, distributed among four genera. The category of medicinal use was the most frequent (36.37%), and the roots were part of the plants used the most (30.44%). It was observed that most species are used to treat respiratory diseases. Few botanical studies and chemical and pharmacological studies were conducted, showing a lack of research in these areas.Conclusions: In addition, the number of species explored in studies demonstrates the need for investment in the identification of species within the family, as well as in the discovery of new bioactive compounds from species of Cleomaceae in Brazil and their pharmacological applications.