Comprehensive Review on the Genus Haloxylon: Pharmacological and
Phytochemical Properties
Authors: Amtaghri Smail , Eddouks Mohamed 
Published: January 2024

Aims:

This review aimed to review the biological, pharmacological, and phytochemical
aspects of the genus Haloxylon.

Background:

Plants of the genus Haloxylon have been used for a long time in traditional medicine,
and they are distributed in the western Mediterranean region to the Middle East, Iran, Mongolia,
Burma, and southwest China. The studied parts of Haloxylon species include aerial parts, leaves,
branches, seeds, roots, rhizosphere, soil, and whole plants, used to treat several diseases, including
sexual disorders, hepatobiliary disorders, eye disorders, skin diseases and hemorrhoids, diarrhea, and
effective in the treatment of various ailments such as snake bite, stomach ache, diabetes, wounds,
earache and sciatica pain, windbreak dune fixation, feeding of livestock and firewood.

Objectives:

Till now, no review on the genus Haloxylon has been conducted. This review aimed to
provide updated information on the genus Haloxylon, including traditional medicinal uses, valorization
and exploitation of medicinal plants, phytochemistry, botanical characterization, pharmacological
and toxicological research focusing on the medicinal properties of several Haloxylon species, especially
their antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic and antifungal activities, as well as
the effect of each bioactive molecule isolated from these species and their pharmacological use, including
the preclinical evaluation of new drugs.

Materials and Methods:

The present work was conducted using various scientific databases, including
Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc. Correct plant names were verified from
plantlist.org. The results of this search were interpreted, analyzed, and documented based on the obtained
bibliographic information.

Results:

Among all species of the Chenopodiaceae family, 6 species of the Haloxylon genus have
approved antioxidant activity, 5 species have antibacterial activity, 3 species have anti-inflammatory
activity, 2 species have cytotoxic activity, and 3 species have antifungal activity. The majority of the
chemical constituents of this plant include flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, saponins, glycosides, and
tannins. Among them, the main bioactive constituents would be present in the alkaloid fraction. The
study of more than 9 Haloxylon plants has identified more than 46 compounds. Pharmacological research
proved that crude extracts and some pure compounds obtained from Haloxylon had activities
for the treatment of different diseases. The objective of the present study was focused on antioxidant,
antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic and antifungal diseases. From the study of the phytochemistry
of the Haloxylon family, it was concluded that all studied plants had active compounds. Among
them, 11 isolated molecules have medicinal activities with antioxidant properties, 10 molecules
showed antibacterial effects, more than 6 molecules have anti-inflammatory properties, more than 9
isolated molecules have medicinal activities against cytotoxic diseases, and more than 28 molecules
have antifungal effects. Therefore, the safety of Haloxylon herbal medicine should be considered a
top priority in the early stages of development and clinical trials.

Conclusion:

Several previously conducted studies have validated multiple traditional uses of Haloxylon
species. Further research is needed on Haloxylon plants before they can be fully utilized in the clinic as a
potent drug candidate, as researchers are mainly focusing on alkaloids, diterpenoids, and triterpenoids,
whereas there are many other types of compounds that may possess novel biological activities.