Bioactive Compounds of Uzbekistan and Central Asian Medicinal Plants: An Ethnopharmacological Review of Traditional Uses and Modern Phytochemical Evidence

Abstract

Central Asia, and Uzbekistan in particular, harbours one of the richest and least internationally documented reservoirs of medicinal plant diversity in the world, with an estimated 4,500 vascular plant species recorded in Uzbekistan alone, of which approximately 600 have documented traditional medicinal use. Despite this exceptional biodiversity and a continuous, centuries-old tradition of use by local tabibs (traditional healers), the region remains, in ethnopharmacological terms, one of the least studied globally relative to its floristic richness. This review synthesises recent (2020-2026) ethnobotanical and phytochemical literature on several of the region's most pharmacologically significant plant genera, including Glycyrrhiza (licorice), Ferula (galbanum and asafoetida-bearing species), Peganum harmala, the endemic Scorzonera uzbekistanica, and medicinal macrofungi associated with the region's forest ecosystems. For each, we summarise documented traditional uses, principal classes of bioactive secondary metabolites (triterpenoid saponins, sesquiterpene coumarins, β-carboline alkaloids, flavonoids, and polyacetylenes), and the pharmacological activities substantiated by contemporary in vitro and in vivo evidence. We further discuss methodological and conservation challenges specific to the region, including overharvesting of wild populations, limited standardisation of extraction and quality-control protocols, and the comparative scarcity of clinical validation relative to preclinical data. We conclude that Central Asian flora represents a substantial, still largely untapped resource for natural-product-based drug discovery, and that expanded international collaboration, systematic phytochemical cataloguing, and sustainable cultivation practices are needed to translate this ethnobotanical heritage into validated contributions to human health.