Field restharrow (Ononis arvensis L.) - promising source of substances with different biological activity

Field restharrow (Ononis arvensis L.) is a perennial herb from the legume family, represented in Russia by two subspecies: O. arvensis subsp. arvensis and O. arvensis subsp. spinescens. The geographic area in which the plant can be found covers most of the European territory of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, as well as the Baltic States, where it reaches the shores of the Gulf of Finland. This review includes the plants botanical description, secondary metabolite composition, as well as the description of the biological and pharmacological activity of O. arvensis. Polyphenolic compounds can be distinguished as the main secondary metabolites of O. arvensis, among which the representative groups are isoflavones (formononetin, pseudobaptigenin, calicoside, their glycosides and derivatives), dihydroisoflavonoids (sativanone and onogenin, their glycosides and derivatives), pterocarpans (medicarpine and maakiain, their glycosides and derivatives), phenol carboxylic acid (caffeic, chlorogenic, ferulic, etc.). Among other polyphenolic compounds, flavonols, flavones, flavan-3-ols, dihydrochalcones, hydrolyzable tannins, stilbenoids and flavanones have also been found in field restharrow. In folk medicine, Ononis arvensis has found application in the treatment of hemorrhoids, articular rheumatism, diseases of the liver, bladder and kidneys, skin diseases (dermatoses, eczema), as well as a diaphoretic, hemostatic and diuretic agent. There is reliable data on the choleretic, analgesic and antihypoxic effects of O. arvensis aqueous-alcoholic extracts, as well as their effect on the motor function of the gastrointestinal tract. Extracts from the perennial part of fieldrestharrow showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruqinosa and Salmonella typhimurium. Thus, a wide variety of biologically active substances, causing a multidirectional pharmacological effect in this plant, makes O. arvensis a promising plant from which individual compounds can be isolated - that in the future could become potential pharmaceutical substances.

fieldrestharrow, isoflavonoids, polyphenols, secondary metabolites, biological activity