Medicinal orchids: Traditional uses and recent advances

Abstract

Orchids are one of the world's largest, most diverse, and intriguing blooming plants belonging to the Orchidaceae family, which has around 30,000-35,000 species worldwide.Orchid being an exotic and high value crop, its cultivation is now in vogue at the commercial level as it exhibits a fascinating range of colour patterns, high keeping quality and had a reputed medicinal efficacy.The ecological factors greatly influenced the medicinal plants.This may lead to altering the level of bioactive compounds in the plant metabolic system.Pharmacological research has revealed that several phytoconstituents in some orchid species exhibit biological health-promoting activities such as; antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anticancer, and neuroprotective properties.Although, orchids are grown for decorative purposes and have a wide range of traditional uses, recent biotechnology breakthroughs in orchids have significantly contributed to the production of exotic varieties with improved aesthetic and therapeutic values.In this review, we put an extensive effort into compiling the available medicinal orchid species featured across the globe and their applications in the pharmaceutical field.In addition, the recent advancements made for the improvement of orchid production are also covered precisely.