Abstract
Bamboos are a versatile non-timber subfamily that has been utilized for various purposes. Generally, bamboo leaves are used as traditional medicine to treat diseases such as cough, rheumatism, influenza, fever, skin disease, heart disease, and malaria. The bamboo extracts contain a wide range of functional groups that are responsible for pharmacological activities. The objective of this review article is to provide in-depth discussion on botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacological properties, and toxicity of bamboo plant extract. Phytochemical studies showed that a total of 21 functional groups were detected from bamboo leaves, stems, and seeds. In addition, volatile compounds that produce aromatic odor also were detected from the bamboo extract. Meanwhile, pharmacological studies revealed that bamboo extract exhibited several pharmacological properties including anti-diarrheal, analgesic effect, antimalarial, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-diabetic, wound healing, anticancer, and hepatotoxicity. The toxicity study found that bamboo extract is safe for consumption and did not show harmful effects. A review of phytochemical constituents and pharmacological properties in plants is important for several purposes such as new drugs discovery and understanding the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of the bioactive compounds to treat various diseases.
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Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemical Constituents, Pharmacological Properties, and Toxicology of the Bambusoideae Species: A Review
Zainol Haida 
,a and Ruzana Sanusi ,a,b,*
Bamboos are a versatile non-timber subfamily that has been utilized for various purposes. Generally, bamboo leaves are used as traditional medicine to treat diseases such as cough, rheumatism, influenza, fever, skin disease, heart disease, and malaria. The bamboo extracts contain a wide range of functional groups that are responsible for pharmacological activities. The objective of this review article is to provide in-depth discussion on botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacological properties, and toxicity of bamboo plant extract. Phytochemical studies showed that a total of 21 functional groups were detected from bamboo leaves, stems, and seeds. In addition, volatile compounds that produce aromatic odor also were detected from the bamboo extract. Meanwhile, pharmacological studies revealed that bamboo extract exhibited several pharmacological properties including anti-diarrheal, analgesic effect, antimalarial, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-diabetic, wound healing, anticancer, and hepatotoxicity. The toxicity study found that bamboo extract is safe for consumption and did not show harmful effects. A review of phytochemical constituents and pharmacological properties in plants is important for several purposes such as new drugs discovery and understanding the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of the bioactive compounds to treat various diseases.
DOI: 10.15376/biores.20.2.Haida
Keywords: Bamboo; Ethnomedicinal uses; Phytochemistry; Volatile compounds; Pharmacology
Contact information: a: Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; b: Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia;
*Corresponding author: ruzanasanusi@upm.edu.my
INTRODUCTION
Bamboos are important versatile non-timber forest species that hold high market value because of their various applications in human life. Bamboo belongs to the subfamily of Bambusoideae, under the grass family known as Poaceae. All the bamboo species are categorized under the subfamily of Bambusoideae. There are over 120 genera and 1641 species from the three tribes: Bambuseae, Arundinarieae, and Olyreae (Table 1) (Soreng et al. 2015). The tribe Bambuseae comprises tropical woody bamboos, Arundinarieae comprises temperate woody bamboos, and Olyreae comprises herbaceous bamboos (Wang et al. 2020a). Among all the three tribes, the most commonly found bamboo species are from the Bambuseae. The main genera from the Bambuseae are Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, and Gigantochloa (Liu et al. 2020). The other well-known genera are the genus Phyllostachys under the tribe Arundinarieae and genus Olyra under tribe Olyreae (Ruiz-Sanchez et al. 2019; Zhang et al. 2020).
Table 1. Taxonomical Classification of Bamboo
From an early human civilization period until now, bamboo has been used extensively in human daily life. Therefore, bamboo has been called “the plant of multifunctional uses” (Rua et al. 2021). Bamboo is widely dispersed around the world, and it comprises 1% of the world forest area (Mustafa et al. 2021). It is reported that the bamboo forest area globally are 31.5 million hectares, with Asia region accounting for approximately 25 million hectares (Mustafa et al. 2021). The largest bamboo forest area is in India with 9.5 million hectares and China with 6.01 million hectares (Wang et al. 2020b). In addition, Asia has the biggest bamboo diversity, including over 90 genera and 900 species, encompassing about 75% of the bamboo species in the world (Bahru and Ding 2021). The highest number of bamboo species can be found in China with over 600 species, followed by India and Japan with 102 and 84 species, respectively (Ahmad et al. 2021). The other countries that have diverse and significant bamboo forest are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, and the Philippines (Du et al. 2018). Every bamboo species is different in terms of physical and biochemical characteristics (Rusch et al. 2023). Hence, bamboo has been used in various industries and bamboo byproducts have been utilized for numerous purposes such as construction materials, animal feed, textiles, paper production, sustenance, landscaping, bioenergy, and pharmaceuticals (Rathour et al. 2022; Yu et al. 2023; de Moraes et al. 2024).
Bamboo plants produce a wide range of bioactive compounds that are responsible for various pharmacological activities. Since a long time ago, the bamboo plant has been used for the treatment of various diseases such as fever, influenza, cough, pneumonia, heart disease, and rheumatism (Wang et al. 2015; Lu et al. 2018). In the phytochemical analysis, a total of 21 functional groups have been detected from the Bambusoideae species’ extracts. The functional groups detected are alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, phenols, proteins, and others (Manohari et al. 2016; Dionglay et al. 2018; Wani et al. 2019; Gauchan et al. 2020; Putra 2024). In addition, volatile compounds also have been detected in the bamboo leaves of Pleioblastus spp., Acidosasa spp., Pseudosasa spp., and Phyllostachys spp. (Yuan et al. 2020; Shen et al. 2022; Wang et al. 2024). The bioactive compounds that present in the bamboo plant directly contribute to pharmacological activities including anti-diarrheal, analgesic effect, antimalarial, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbials, anti-diabetic, wound healing, anticancer, and hepatotoxicity (Wedler et al. 2014; Adnan et al. 2015; Rashid et al. 2016; Upreti et al. 2016; Anigboro 2018; Mori et al. 2018; Yang et al. 2019; Luo et al. 2022; Hidayah and Hafsah 2023; Sola et al. 2023; Chitiva et al. 2024).
Owing to its numerous uses in traditional medicines, various pharmacological studies have been conducted on different parts of several important bamboo species. Hence, this article aimed to comprehensively review the pharmacological properties of bamboo species. Specifically, this article provides an in-depth review of ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacological properties, and toxicology of the Bambusoideae species. This review article would be useful for future research related to pharmacological potential of bamboo plant that largely can contribute to pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
Generally, the bamboo plant is divided into two major parts known as upper and underground parts. The upper part is the stem, which is specifically called the culms. It is woody in composition (Chaowana et al. 2021). The culm is cylindrical in shape and divided into multiple sections that are separated by diaphragms or nodes (Bala and Gupta 2023). The diameter of bamboo culm is between 0.64 and 30.48 cm. The weight varies depending on the bamboo species. The bamboo plant can grow up to 36 m tall (Bahtiar et al. 2019). Unlike a tree, bark is absent in the bamboo plant. In addition, the center of the culm is hollow; in addition, the presence of silica provides the culm with a tough outer shell, which is smooth and flexible (Su et al. 2021). The branches of the bamboo plant have commonly emerged from the nodes. The branches can be single or multiple branches per node. The leaves emerge from the nodal segment on the branch. Other leaves are narrow and arranged alternately along the branch. The adaxial surface of the leaves is smooth and abaxial surface of the leaves has trichomes (Li et al. 2023).
The lower part of the bamboo plant, which is known as the underground part, consists of rhizomes and roots. The rhizome is the main vegetative reproductive part of the bamboo plant. The rhizomes are commonly sympodial, serving as the main storage organs for the nutrients which are needed for the plant growth and development (Hu et al. 2023). The rhizomes have meristematic buds which develop into shoots and form a cluster of culms (Shou et al. 2020). There are two types of bamboo rhizomes, namely clumping and creeping rhizomes (Singnar et al. 2021). The clumping rhizomes grow vertically, and new shoots emerges near the main culm. Meanwhile, the creeping rhizomes are grown horizontally, and new shoots are produced at interval which can spread over long distance (Shima et al. 2023). The rhizomes are divided by nodes. The roots are produced at the nodal segments. The bamboo roots are fibrous and form a dense network underground to support the plant (Kaushal et al. 2020). The roots of the bamboo plant grow fast and rapidly can spread in the soil and colonize the area. The roots play a vital role in absorption of water and nutrients and transport throughout the plant (Hennion et al. 2019).
BAMBOO CLASSIFICATION
Belonging to subfamily Bambusoideae in the grass family, bamboo is diverse and widely distributed. Bamboo is classified based on various factors including geographic, morphological characteristics, and chemical composition. Different bamboo species are adapted to specific regions. This directly influences the physical properties, phytochemical constituents, and applications. The classification of bamboo are as described in Table 2.
Table 2. The Classification of Bamboo
ETHNOMEDICINAL USES OF BAMBOO
Since ancient times, bamboo has been widely planted in China and Japan. The bamboo plant, especially the leaves, has played a significant role as traditional medicine to treat various illnesses (Bal et al. 2012; Panee 2015). The leaves of the bamboo plant are commonly used for the treatment of cough, improvement of eyesight, and for detoxification (Ren et al. 2019). Besides that, bamboo leaves in combination with different herbs have been used in traditional medicine used to treat influenza and fever (Wang et al. 2015). In addition, bamboo leaves are used as a treatment option for pneumonia, skin diseases, and ulcer (Li 2017; Lu et al. 2018). In India, bamboo leaves from the Bambusa vulgaris are prescribed for the treatment of rheumatism, heart diseases, and malaria (Singh et al. 2020). It also been reported that the seeds of bamboo also can treat the rheumatism (Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu 2011; Silambarasan and Ayyanar 2015). In Bangladesh, roots and leaves are used to cure fever and skin disease (Hanif et al. 2009). Most of the herbal medicine from bamboo was prepared by boiling in hot water and given orally (Sangeetha et al. 2015). Based on the ethnomedicinal uses reported, bamboo parts might consist of a wide range of bioactive compounds that possess biological properties.
PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS
Higher plants have been the source of human necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing from the beginning of human civilization (Rex et al. 2018). Besides that, plants have been used as a source of medicine either as a traditional or modern medicine (Gakuya et al. 2020). The phytochemicals present in the plants are natural bioactive compounds that significantly contribute to various biological activities. Phytochemical synthesis by plants can be divided into primary and secondary metabolites, which are classified based on chemical structures (Elshafie et al. 2023). Primary metabolites such as lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, are bioactive compounds that are vital for plant physiological and biochemical processes (Salam et al. 2023). Meanwhile, secondary metabolites are bioactive compounds that are produced by plants to support the physiological processes and as part of plant defense mechanisms (Kumar et al. 2023). Secondary metabolite groups are more diverse than primary metabolites which are the main reason secondary metabolites gain more attention for the development of drugs and medicines (Pang et al. 2021). The example of secondary metabolite groups are phenolics, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and others.
Phytochemical Screening in Bamboo
In determining the bioactive compounds in a plant sample, phytochemical screening is an essential step to find the functional groups that are present. Bioactive compounds are grouped based on the chemical structure. The procedure of isolating bioactive compounds from the plant extract is complicated and can be costly. The bioactive compounds are usually quantified by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS), gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Hence, conducting the functional group screening could be beneficial, as it is generally done using a qualitative method, simple procedure, quick and inexpensive (Haida et al. 2022).
Based on Table 3, phytochemical screening has been conducted on different bamboo species including Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa nutans, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa balcooa, Gigantochloa levis, Dendrocalamus asper, Bambusa blumeana, and Bambusa arundinacea. A total of 21 phytochemical classes such as alkaloids, anthocyanins, betacyanins, carbohydrates, cardiac glycoside, coumarin, diterpenes, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, phlobatannins, phytosterols, proteins, quinones, reducing sugars, resins, saponins, steroids, terpenoids, triterpenes, and tannins were detected either from the shoots, leaves, stems, and seeds of the bamboo plant (Tripathi et al. 2015; Owolabi and Lajide 2015; Tongco et al. 2016; Manohari et al. 2016; Dionglay et al. 2018; Wani et al. 2019; Gauchan et al. 2020; Putra 2024).
The phytochemicals screening was carried out by using different polarities of the extraction solvents. The higher polarity of solvents such as aqueous, methanol. and acetone were mostly chosen for extraction purposes (Dionglay et al. 2018; Putra 2024). This is because polar compounds such as amino acids, sugars, carbohydrates, phenolics, and glycosides are more dominant in the plant and polar solvents are more suitable for the extraction (Nawaz et al. 2020). Furthermore, the major phytochemical classes detected in bamboo extracts were alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, phenols, proteins, saponins, and tannins (Olowabi and Lajide 2015; Tripanthi et al. 2015; Gauchan et al. 2020; Putra 2024). Meanwhile, among all the phytochemical classes tested, groups of anthraquinones and cyanogenic glycosides were not detected in the bamboo extract (Manohari et al. 2016; Tongco et al. 2016).
Table 3. Phytochemicals Screening in Bamboo Plant
VOLATILE COMPOUNDS
The bamboo plant has been utilized as a healing agent. In recent years, bamboo forests have been rapidly developed and have gained popularity especially in the Asia region. Bamboo forest provides clean air, strong bactericidal ability, and comfortable thermal environment (Tang et al. 2023). Research has forecasted that microclimatic variables within bamboo forests may impact the emission of natural volatiles, thus influencing the efficacy of bamboo forest recreation (Choi et al. 2021). The bamboo forest has potential to serve as a therapy place, as it significantly affects physiological regulation such as decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive emotions (Lyu et al. 2019).
This evidence showed that bamboo plants biosynthesize a wide range of volatile compounds that produce an aromatic odor. The volatile compounds can be detected by using gas chromatography olfactory (GC-O), GC-MS, and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) (Takahashi et al. 2010; Jin et al. 2011; Yuan et al. 2020; Shen et al. 2022; Wang et al. 2024).
A recent study conducted by Wang et al. (2024) quantified the volatile compounds in the leaves of eight bamboo species, namely Pleioblastus amarus, Pleioblastus maculatus, Pleioblastus juxianensis, Acidosasa chienouensis, Pseudosasa amabilis, Phyllostachys rubromarginata, and Phyllostachys hirtivagina. The analysis used GC-MS. A total of 40 compounds were identified (Table 4).
The highest contents of volatile compounds present were alcohols (55.5%), aldehydes (37.8%), terpenoids (4.5%), esters (1.6%), alkanes (0.5%), and ketones (0.2%). Among all the volatile compounds identified, 24 compounds were found to give sensory attributes of bamboo leaves that produce aromatic scents such as grassy, fruity, floral, pine, and cypress scents. The compounds were (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-methyl-3-heptanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexenal, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, benzaldehyde, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, 2-phenylethanal, nonanal, β-cyclocitral, ethyl hexanoic, (Z)-3-hexen acetate, acetic acid, α-pinene, β-pinene, 3-carene, limonene, and terpinolene (Wang et al. 2024). The study by Shen et al. (2022) identified the key odor in active compounds in Phyllostachys pubescens including 3-methyl-1butanol (fruity), (E)-2-hexenal (leafy, fruity), (Z)-4-heptenal (milk, creamy), ethyl hexanoate (fruity, waxy), octanal (orange peel), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (lemongrass) ethyl (Z)-hexenoate (fruity), 1-hexanol (oily, benzaldehyde (almond), (Z)-2-hexen-1-ol (herbal leaf), (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol (fresh), and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom). The volatile compounds detected from the bamboo plant were commonly in the group of fatty acid, alcohol, aldehydes, terpenoids, esters, and alkanes (Takahashi et al. 2010; Jin et al. 2011; Yuan et al. 2020).
Table 4. Volatile Compounds from the Bamboo Plant
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
Pharmacological properties from plant extracts include therapeutic effects and biological activities of bioactive compounds derived from plants that can be utilized in medicine (Tran et al. 2020). Pharmacological properties are mostly attributed to secondary metabolites which possess various health benefits. The pharmacological potential of plants differs due to different compositions of bioactive compounds. As for the bamboo plant extract, the pharmacological properties that have been studied are described in the following subsections.
Anti-diarrheal Effect
Diarrhea is one of the most common diseases that caused by contaminated or wrong diets. It can lead to infection in the absorptive and secretory functions (Oghenesuvwe et al. 2018). The anti-diarrheal activity of bamboo was assessed by using the castor oil induced method (Rashid et al. 2016) (Table 5a). The mice were administered with the methanolic extract of Bambusa bambos leaves at the concentration of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight. The results showed that administration of 400 mg/kg of methanolic extract of B. bambos leaves significantly reduced the number of diarrheal feces and lowered the percentage of inhibition of diarrhea compared to the 200 mg/kg of methanolic extract of B. bambos leaves and 50 mg/kg of loperamide. This study suggested that bamboo extract has anti-diarrheal properties. However, further investigation is needed to explore the underlying mechanism of action of this activity.
Analgesic Effect
Pain is an unpleasant sensation that is often caused by tissue damage. The sensation of pain is due to sensory nerve fibers stimulation (Khan et al. 2020). Modern medicines are effective in treating pain; however, several side effects may be observed, such as ulcer (Roy et al. 2023). Hence, the potential of bamboo extract to exhibit analgesic effect has been studied. The analgesic effect of bamboo plant extracts was determined using the acetic acid induced writhing in Swiss albino mice (Table 5b). Based on the previous studies, the aerial parts of Bambusa spinosa, Bambusa vulgaris, and Dendrocalamus giganteus were extracted with methanol at the concentrations of 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight (Haque et al. 2014; Haque et al. 2015; Adnan et al. 2015). Based on the results obtained, treatment of the mice with 400 mg/kg B. spinosa extract significantly reduced the number of abdominal constrictions and increased the percentage of inhibition with 2.4% and 60% inhibition, respectively (Adnan et al. 2015). The finding by Haque et al. (2015) showed that administration of 400 mg/kg methanolic extract of B. vulgaris resulted in a lower number of abdominal constrictions (3.0) and high percentage of inhibition (44.4%). In another study by Haque et al. (2014) also found that increment in the concentration of D. giganteus methanolic extract significantly reduced the number of abdominal constrictions and increased the percentage of inhibition. The presence of bioactive compounds from the group of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, and tannins might exhibit the analgesic effect (Haque et al. 2014). These findings suggest that bamboo extract may have analgesic properties.
Table 5. Pharmacological Properties of Bamboo Extracts
Antimalarial
The infection of Plasmodium parasites is a cause of malaria, and this disease is one of the major causes of morbidity and death in tropical and subtropical undeveloped countries (Nigussie and Wale 2022). The anti-malarial properties of bamboo extract were studied by Anigboro (2018) (Table 5c). The leaves of B. vulgaris were extracted with water. The Plasmodium berghei infected mice were administered with B. vulgaris leaves extract at the concentrations of 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight. The results showed that 300 mg/kg leaves extract of B. vulgaris significantly exhibited the lowest percentage of malaria parasites. The study also found that administration of B. vulgaris bamboo extract at all concentrations exhibited better anti-malarial effect compared to the standard anti-malarial drug, Lonart at a concentration 100 mg/kg. This finding showed that bamboo extract might have the anti-malarial effect. However, further investigation is needed to study the effectiveness and side effects of the bamboo extract.
Anti-ulcer Effect
One of the most common gastrointestinal disorders that affect many people is ulcer. Some of the phytochemicals present in the plant extract can exhibit anti-ulcer properties. The study related to anti-ulcer properties of bamboo extract is very limited. An in vivo test study by Upreti et al. (2016) used the ethanol and methanol leaves extracts of Bambusa balcooa for the anti-ulcer analysis (Table 5d). The results found that the B. balcooa leaves extract showed a satisfactory protective ratio with 14.44% compared to the standard ranitidine which produced 60% of protective ratio. Although this finding shows that B. balcooa extract had an anti-ulcer effect, further investigation is needed to confirm its effectiveness by conducting other parameters related to anti-ulcer analysis.
Anti-Inflammatory
The physiological process that involves the intervention of the immune system is known as inflammation. Inflammation occurs to protect the organism from the infections of microbes (Bouyahya et al. 2022). The potential of bamboo extract in combating inflammation was studied using in vitro and in vivo techniques (Table 5e). In a recent finding by Hidayah and Hafsah (2023), the leaves of Gigantochloa apus were extracted using ethanol and tested using bovine serum albumin protein denaturation inhibition method. It was found that the percentage of bovine serum albumin inhibition was increased as the ethanolic leaves of G. apus were increased. Moreover, an in vitro anti-inflammatory properties of bamboo extracts were tested using lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production (Yang et al. 2014; Ren et al. 2019; Kojima et al. 2022; Tundis et al. 2023). The leaves and shoots of Phyllostachys edulis, Sasa albomarginata, Pleioblastus amarus, and Sasa coreana were tested using this method. The observation showed that the bamboo extracts were able to inhibit the lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production, reactive oxygen species, interlukin-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production. Besides, the leaves extract of Phyllostachys edulis were found to inhibit the tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced inflammatory (Wedler et al. 2014). In the in vivo study, the results found that an aqueous rhizomes extract of Guadua paniculata was capable in suppressing inflammation via lowering hyperalgesia and downregulation of neutrophil recruitment in mice (Sousa et al. 2021).
Anti-Bacterial
Bacterial infections are caused by invasion and multiplication of bacterial colonies in the human body. Bacteria can be categorized into Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria based on their cell wall structure and respond towards Gram stain (Varghese and Balachandran 2021). The common Gram-positive bacteria are Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., and Bacillus spp. (Assoni et al. 2020). Meanwhile, the common Gram-negative bacteria are Escherichia spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Klebsiella spp. (Arbab et al. 2021). The anti-bacterial potential of bamboo extracts was investigated through in vitro method such as microdilution method, agar punch diffusion assay, turbidity method, double-plate punching method, agar diffusion method, and broth dilution method (Table 5f). A study by Sola et al. (2023) found that the minimum inhibitory concentration of leaves and culms extract of Guadua aff. lynnclarkiae on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were between 1.55 to 6.25 mg/mL. Meanwhile, the analysis of anti-bacterial properties of different species of bamboo leaves including Olyra glaberrima, Aulonemia aristulata, Filgueirasia arenicola, Filgueirasia cannavieira, Merostachys neesii, and Merostachys pluriflora found that hexane extract exhibited more anti-bacterial properties compared to ethanol extracts (Anselmo-Moreira et al. 2021). The essential oil extracted from the leaves of Phyllostachys heterocycla and seeds of Bambusa bambos exhibited anti-bacterial effect on Gram-positive (S. aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) (Jin et al. 2011; Soumya et al. 2014; Tao et al. 2018; Tao et al. 2019). The effect of different polarity of solvent (chloroform, hexane and ethyl acetate) of B. vulgaris leaves extract were tested on B. cereus. S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae found that hexane extract exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration for B. cereus, ethyl acetate extract for S. aureus, E. coli and K. pneumoniae (Owolabi and Lajide 2015).
Anti-Fungal
Fungal infection diseases result in more than 1.5 million fatalities in a year (Al Aboody and Mickymaray 2020). The main fungal strains globally due to their high incidence of the diseases and severity are Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Cryptococcus spp., and Pneumocystis spp. (Mendonca et al. 2022). The anti-fungal properties of bamboo extract were investigated by using disk diffusion method, agar diffusion method and broth dilution method on various fungal strains including Botrytis cinerea, Glomerella cingulata, Trichoderma harzianum, Helicia peltate, Hypolepis lacteal, Aspergillus niger, Verticillium albo-atrum, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei (Table 5g). The study by Mori et al. (2018) found that the super-heated culm extract of P. heterocycla remarkably inhibited the growth of B. cinerea, G. cingulate, and T. harzianum. In the study conducted by Owolabi and Lajide (2015), the leaves of B. vulgaris were extracted with different polarity of solvents (chloroform, ethyl acetate and hexane). The results showed that hexane extract of B. vulgaris was more prominent in inhibit the growth of Aspergillus niger with the minimum inhibitory concentration recorded 1.25 mg/mL compared to chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts with 2.5 mg/mL, respectively. In contrast, the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration recorded for the Verticillium albo-atrum fungal strain was observed from the treatment of ethyl acetate extract of B. vulgaris with 1.25 mg/mL. Based on the findings by Soumya et al. (2014), the essential oil extracted from the seeds of B. bambos was able to inhibit the growth of three Candida fungal strains species including C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei.
Anti-Diabetic
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease due to insufficient insulin secretion and activity. Plant contains of bioactive compounds which could have an effect as anti-diabetic properties. The anti-diabetic properties of bamboo were quantified via in vivo and in vitro techniques (Table 5h). The leaves, seeds, aerial parts and roots of Dendrocalamus latiflorus, Bambusa arundinacea, Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa spinosa, Bambusa vulgaris, and Dendrocalamus giganteus were used for the anti-diabetic test. A study using in vitro technique conducted by Haldipur and Srividya (2021) found that bamboo seed extract of B. arundinacea was able to inhibit the alpha amylase with the IC50 value recorded as 2.85 μg/mL. In the study conducted by Luo et al. (2022), the ethanolic leaves extract D. latiflorus significantly reduced blood glucose levels, body weight, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of the mice. The study found that the leaves extract of D. latiflorus activated the AKT signaling pathway and downregulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 and glucose-6-phosphatase expression, which resulted in decrement of glucose production (Luo et al. 2022). Meanwhile, the potential of Bambusa species extracts found that all the extract ranged from 50 to 400 mg/kg body weight exhibited anti-diabetic properties by lowering the blood glucose level (Senthilkumar et al. 2011; Nazreen et al. 2011; Macharla et al. 2012; Haque et al. 2015; Goyal et al. 2017). Meanwhile, a study using D. giganteus extract also found that increment of dosage administration from 50 to 400 mg/kg body weight resulted to decrement of blood glucose level (Haque et al. 2014).
Wound Healing
Wounds are characterized as physical injuries that create an opening or rupture in the skin, leading to a disruption in the normal anatomical structure of the skin and function (Rippon et al. 2022). Wound healing can be divided into three distinct phases: the primary inflammation is succeeded by the granulation phase associated with re-epithelialization and ultimately, the prolonged procedure of remodeling (Hong et al. 2023). A study on the potential of bamboo extract on wound healing activity was conducted by Wedler et al. (2014) by using cell mitigation assay (Table 5i). The leaves of P. edulis were extracted with an aqueous and diluted at the concentration of 10, 50, and 100 μg/mL. The wound healing parameters show that bamboo leaves extract improved the wound closure by 28% to 54% at 12 h and 24 h, respectively.
Anticancer
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Cancer is defined as development and unregulated proliferation of cells in tissues, resulting in the formation of amalgamation and tumor that have potential to spread to a whole organ or disseminate systemically to other tissues (Valent et al. 2012; Garcia-Oliveira et al. 2021). The development of anticancer agents from the plant derived bioactive compounds is more convenient due to low toxicity and side effects (Asma et al. 2022). In vitro technique via MTT assay was used to quantify the anticancer activity of various bamboo species including Guadua incana, Bambusa arundinacea, Bambusa nutans, Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys pubescens, and Phyllostachys nigra (Table 5j). The cancer lines tested were HCT-116 (colorectal cancer cell), MCF-7 (breast cancer cell), and PC-3 (human prostate adenocarcinoma cell). The recent study conducted by Chitiva et al. (2024) found that ethanolic leaves extract of G. incana at a concentration of 5 μg/mL resulted 10% of cell viability of HCT-116. Increment of dosage up to 50 μg/mL had resulted in 5% of cell viability. Meanwhile, the effect of leaves extracts of B. arundinacea and B. nutans found that increment of bamboo extracts significantly reduced the percentage of cell viability of MCF-7 (Kalairasi et al. 2015; Jayarambabu et al. 2021, 2023). In addition. The leaves extract of three species of Phyllostachys found that the steam leaves extracts were significantly reduced the PC-3 cell viability of P. bambusoides, P. pubescens, and P. nigra with 20.85%, 20.41%, and 1.15%, respectively (Kim et al. 2014).
Hepatotoxicity
One of the vital organs that control the physiological functions in human is the liver. Liver injury, which is known as hepatotoxicity, is a serious health issue that caused by hepatotoxic compounds (Al-Ezzy et al. 2017). The hepatotoxicity test was carried out through in vivo technique. The rats and mice were used as test subject and hepatotoxic was induced by phenylhydrazine, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and thioacetamide (Table 5k). The study by Yang et al. (2019) showed that the mice injected with the stem extract of P. nigra at the concentration of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight significantly reduced the plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). In the studies conducted by using CCl4 to induce hepatotoxicity, the extract of bamboo shoots and leaves exhibited hepatoprotective properties by reducing the aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphate (ALP), total bilirubin, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) (Zhang et al. 2014; Anghore and Kulkarni 2016; Patil et al. 2018). Meanwhile, in the study by using thioacetamide to induce hepatotoxicity, methanolic extract of B. arundinacea shoots extract significantly decreased the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, alkaline phosphate, total bilirubin, and direct bilirubin (Chauhan et al. 2017).
TOXICITY
Toxicity is the ability of a substance to cause effects on living organisms. Generally, the bioactive compounds that present in plants can potentially cause toxicity (Vilas-Boas et al. 2021). It is important to conduct a toxicity study and find the lethal dose for the plant extract. The toxicity test of B. balcooa leaves was conducted using the Arithmetic method of Karber (Goyal et al. 2017). The Swiss albino mice were administered with 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 g/kg body weight of aqueous leaves extract of B. balcooa. The result revealed that the median lethal dose (LD50) of B. balcooa aqueous leaves extract was 5.18 g/kg (Goyal et al. 2017). Rashid et al. (2016) carried out the toxicity test of B. bambos leaves extract via brine shrine lethality bioassay. The LD50 values recorded were 21.47, 8.45, 9.40, 3.91, and 16.64 μg/mL for the methanol extract, petroleum ether soluble fraction, carbon tetrachloride soluble fraction, dichloromethane soluble fraction, and aqueous soluble fraction, respectively. Meanwhile, the toxicity test conducted on the aerial parts of D. giganteus, B. spinosa, and B. vulgaris extracted with methanol did not show toxicity symptoms in mice up to dose of 3000 mg/kg body weight. There was no abnormal behavioral pattern and mortality were observed (Haque et al. 2014; Adnan et al. 2015; Haque et al. 2015). In addition, according to the finding by Senthilkumar et al. (2011), the leaves of B. vulgaris extracted with petroleum ether administered up to dose level of 2000 mg/kg did not show any lethality signs.
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
This review article has focused on the importance of Bambusoideae species as a potential source for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The bamboo plant is a common non-timber product, for which the medicinal potential of the bamboo plant generally is not well-known. Hence, the compilation of the phytochemical constituents and pharmacological properties of various parts of different bamboo species in this review article illuminates the point that bamboo plants also could be used as a good source for medicinal purposes. Future research on Bambusoideae species should focus on clinical validation, toxicity assessments, and phytoanalytical studies to determine the medicinal potential. The preliminary insights obtained from the in vitro and in vivo studies are sufficient for confirming bioavailability, safety, and therapeutic efficacy in humans. However, rigorous clinical trials are needed to determine appropriate dosages, side effects and long-term health benefits. In addition, developing standardized extraction and purification techniques for isolation of bioactive compounds are important to ensure the suitability for pharmaceutical applications.
Besides pharmaceutical applications, bamboo-derived bioactive compounds can also be utilized in functional foods and cosmeceuticals. Further research on synergistic effects of bamboo phytochemicals combining with bioactive compounds of other plant species should be explored to enhance therapeutic outcomes. To ensure a sustainable and scalable supply of bioactive compounds, a biotechnology approach such as plant tissue culture, elicitation, cell suspension culture, and metabolic engineering should be employed. These techniques are advanced biotechnology applications that can significantly increase the yield of targeted bioactive compounds and can reduce the reliance on large-scale harvesting of wild bamboo populations.
In addition, sustainable cultivation and conservation strategies must be developed to balance ecological preservation and commercial utilization. Although bamboo is a fast-growing species, an increase in demand for its medicinal properties could lead to overexploitation. By implementing organic cultivation methods, agroforestry practices and biodiversity conservation efforts will be essential for maintaining the ecological balance while ensuring long-term availability. Hence, through integration of biotechnology and sustainable practices, bamboo has the high potential to emerge as a high-value resource for development of natural medicines, contributing to both pharmaceutical and environmental sustainability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful for the financial support given by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) under the Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (800-3/8/HICoEF2/2023/5210001) at the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
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Article submitted: December 28, 2024; Peer review completed: March 15, 2025; Revised version received: March 18, 2025; Accepted: March 19, 2025; Published: March 24, 2025.
DOI: 10.15376/biores.20.2.Haida