Phytochemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of Calendula officinalis Linn (Asteraceae): A Review

Calendula officinalis Linn. (Asteraceae) is used medicinally in Europe, China and India amongst several places in the world. It is also known as “African marigold” and has been a subject of several chemical and pharmacological studies. It is used in traditional medicine, especially for wound healing, jaundice, blood purification, and as an antispasmodic. Chemical studies have underlined the presence of various classes of compounds, the main being triterpenoids, flavonoids, coumarines, quinones, volatile oil, carotenoids and amino acids. The extract of this plant as well as pure compounds isolated from it, have been demonstrated to possess multiple pharmacological activities such as anti-HIV, cytotoxic, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, spasmolytic and spasmogenic, amongst others. In this review, we have explored the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of C. officinalis in order to collate existing information on this plant as well as highlight its multi-activity properties as a medicinal agent. This is as a result of the worldwide cultivation of the plant and increasing published reports on it.