Phlomis genus: bridging tradition and science in medicinal Research-a review of phytochemistry and pharmacological properties

The genus Phlomis contains more than 100 species distributed in North Africa and the Mediterranean region. This review highlights Phlomis-derived compounds' biological and pharmacological properties and their essential oils, with a special emphasis on anticancer activities. Relevant data was collected from scientific sources including Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Springer Link by using the keyword "Phlomis". Also, the latest version of the plants' names was checked by www.worldfloraonline.org. Important Phytochemicals compounds like flavonoids, iridoids, and alkaloids, which were isolated from different Phlomis species showed significant biological activity, and inhibitory effects on various cancer cells (MCF-7, A549, HepG2, HT-29, etc.) via different mechanisms. The collected data strongly underpins the viewpoint that species belonging to the Phlomis genus have diverse biological and pharmaceutical activities to treat various diseases, including cancer, and their remarkable antimicrobial properties with no or minimal health and environmental hazards.