Salicornia herbacea: Botanical, chemical and pharmacological review of halophyte marsh plant

Salicornia (S.) herbacea L. (Chenopodiaceae) is a salt marsh plant and one of the most salt tolerant species on Western coast of Korea. In a long time, S. herbacea has been prescribed in traditional medicines for the treatment of intestinal ailments, nephropathy, and hepatitis in Oriental countries. In addition, S. herbacea has recently reported to be effective on the atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. A variety of pharmacological experiments have revealed that solvent-extracted fractions of S. herbacea exhibited anti-oxidative, anti-microbial, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory activities, supporting rationale behind its several traditional uses. Tungtungmadic acid, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, and isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside have been isolated from S. herbacea, and identified as active ingredients of biological and pharmacological activities. Due to the easily collection of the plant and remarkable biological activities, this plant has become the food and medicine in seashore area of Korea. This review presents comprehensively analyzed information on the botanical, chemical, and pharmacological aspects of S. herbacea.