MALVA: FOOD, MEDICINE AND CHEMISTRY

Abstract

Plants of the genus Malva (Malvacea) are used by humans for millenia. In addition to being an important nutritional source, they were used for various medicinal purposes. Modern research approves the ethnomedicinal uses of these plants and still discovering many others. Many review articles were published about the traditional uses of Malva , and some reviews were published about modern research findings of the medicinal and other properties of M. sylvestris , but no review article was published that contains both traditional and modern scientific knowledge about all plants of this genus. The present article is very comprehensive but its also "reader friendly", since it summarizes the information in clear tables. In addition, important natural products contained in Malva subspecies will be highlighted, and major cited information will be discussed. Future research possibilities will be suggested and conclusions will be drawn.