A Systematic Review of Ethnobotanical, Phytochemical, and Ethnopharmacological Studies of Urtica simensis (Stinging Nettle)

Abstract

The Urticaceae family contains 54 genera and more than 2000 species that can be found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates all over the world. This family includes the largest genus in the world, Urtica, which is also known as stinging nettle. Stinging hairs are present on the lower surface of the leaves and beneath the stems of Urtica simensis, also known as the stinging nettle, herbal nettle that is dioecious, upright, and unbranched. For the treatment of conditions like gastritis, heart disease, diabetes, gonorrhea, and malaria, people employ various portions of Urtica simensis in a variety of ways in traditional medicine. The Urtica simensis leaves are rich in variety of active secondary phytochemical constituents including terpenoids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, polyphenols, sterols, oxalate, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). According to different reports, it possesses a variety of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, antiproliferative, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, antiulcer, antibacterial, and antifungal actions. The current review summarizes published and unpublished information about the ethnobotanical, phytochemical, ethnopharmacological, and toxicological reports of Urtica simensis and summarizes all the research work carried out on this plant to provide updated information for future work.

Keywords:

• Urtica simensis
• ethnobotanical uses
• phytochemical studies
• ethnopharmacological studies
• Ethiopia

Data Sharing Statement

The data sets used and/or analyzed during the current work are available from the corresponding author upon a reasonable request.

Author Contributions

The current work was significantly contributed to by all authors, who also took part in its conception, design, execution, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, article drafting, revision, or critical review, final approval of the version to be published, agreement on the journal to which the article has been submitted, and commitment to full responsibility for the work. The concept and proposal were both created by TYT. The final draft for publishing was written by MMZ, SBD, and GTA who also gave it a critical assessment. The final document was read by all authors, who all gave their approval.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.