The New World Bays (Litsea, Lauraceae). A Botanical, Chemical, Pharmacological and Ecological Review in Relation to their Traditional and Potential Applications as Phytomedicines

Abstract

The genus Litsea (Lauraceae) comprises eight species in the American Continent collectively known as “laurel”. Here, we review their botany, ethnobotany, ecology, chemistry and pharmacology to promote their international recognition, and to outline their use as condiments and as potential sources of novel phytomedicines. “Laurel” leaves are widely used as a spice and in traditional medicine throughout Mexico and Central America. The leaves of these species are harvested mainly from wild populations in temperate forests. The most used and studied species is L. glaucescens, which is listed as endangered in Mexico. Its leaves are traded throughout the country and even exported. However, in an international context, they are considered substitutes for the Mediterranean “bay leaf” (Laurus nobilis). Several folk medicinal applications of L. glaucescens and other species of Litsea have been experimentally validated in vitro. Although most active principles are yet to be discovered, some species may be suitable to develop new phytomedicines, especially as antidepressants and anti-inflammatory. However, research on the systematics, phytochemistry, ecology and genetics of the American species of Litsea is scarce. Further research will allow the development of such phytomedicines through the rational exploitation of natural populations or the establishment of plantations, thus avoiding “laurel” to follow the fate of numerous Mesoamerican floristic resources which have been depleted, while their economic and medicinal potential remained largely untapped.