Nutraceutical Potential of Parkia speciosa(Stink Bean): A Current Review | Biomedgrid

Background: Inadequate fruits and vegetables intake contributes to the prevalence of major diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Parkia speciosa [stink bean] is a common vegetable consumed in the Southeast Asia. Although it contains various phytochemicals that can help prevent disease development, the effort to develop a specific treatment or food products from Parkia speciosa remains a challenge. Here, we explore research works of the medicinal benefits of P. speciosa that can be used as a guide to develop future clinical studies. Method: We conducted a database search on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct using the keywords “medicinal benefits”, “Parkia speciosa” “antioxidant”, “hypoglycemic”, “antitumor”, “antimicrobial” and “cardiovascular effects”. We included clinical trial, in vitro and in vivo studies that were written in English or Malay; and excluded review articles with no time limitations. Result: We reviewed a total of 28 research articles. No clinical trial was found. The articles were grouped into antioxidative, hypoglycemic, antitumor, antimicrobial and cardiovascular effects. Six articles had combination of the medicinal properties. Seeds and empty pods are the most common plants parts used. Each bioactivities differed depending on the plant parts, extracts, methods, cultivar and plantation site. Conclusion: P. speciosa demonstrated antioxidative, hypoglycemic, antitumor, antimicrobial and cardiovascular effects that were contributed by its phytochemical compounds. This finding could be used as a database for future clinical studies. We recommended researchers to use the information from the articles reviewed for drug development and clinical trial.