A Review of Phytochemistry and Phylogeny that Aid Bio-prospecting in the Traditional Medicinal Plant Genus Ferula L. (Apiaceae) in Iran

Ferula L. as one of the most economically important genera of Apiaceae comprises many species with numerous aromatic and bioactive compounds used in traditional and modern medicine. Based on these features of Ferula that were subject to phytochemical studies, we compare recent molecular phylogenetic findings inferred from nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrDNA ITS) and cpDNA regions (rps16, rpoC1 introns and rpoB-trnC intergenic spacer) with the secondary metabolites inferred from available phytochemical data to investigate the phylogenetic relationships within the Iranian species of the genus. Totally 40 species including six species of Leutea and 34 species of Ferula belonging to three subgenera and seven sections in Iran were examined by phytochemical data that inferred from above 150 publications. Phytochemical compounds were typified in nine groups as 40 binary characters. The last phylogenetic tree was pruned for those Iranian species and the phytochemical data were mapped over. The phytochemical analyses indicate that the major chemical components such as organic sulphur, monoterpen and sesquiterpene compounds have concentrated within five sections of subgen. Narthex of the Ferula genus and the economically important species mostly placed closely within the sections Merwia and Scorodosma.