The therapeutic potential of Delonix Regia: An updated review

Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) and subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is distributed in Madagascar, India, Africa, and Northern Australia. This review article is a summary of significant scientific literature on D. regia from several research databases. The review has revealed that D. regia is rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, and phenolic compounds, all of which contribute to a variety of biological properties such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, wound-healing, hepatoprotective, and antioxidant effects. Most previous reviews on the plant merely provided general phytochemical overviews. In contrast, the present review is focused on the specific phytoconstituents of different parts of the plant (flowers, leaves, bark, seeds, and roots), and these phytoconstituents were correlated with experimentally validated therapeutic outcomes reported in scientific studies. The review highlighted the unique therapeutic potential of D. regia and identified the research gaps, such as limited clinical validation and lack of extract standardization, while proposing directions for future studies. These insights underscore the potential of the plant for use as a source of phytotherapeutic agents.