Investigations of Phytochemical Constituents and Their Pharmacological Properties Isolated from the Genus Urtica: Critical Review and Analysis

The genus Urtica belongs to the family Urticaceae. The plants of this genus are known as nettles or, quite often, as stinging nettles. These plants can be easily identified by the presence of stinging hairs. Urtica species have previously been used for various medicinal purposes. The history for the use of these plants for medicinal purposes starts from the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC). Medicinally, the genus Urtica has been used to treat several disorders, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchitis, diarrhea, sprains, kidney stones, urinary tract infection, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids, flu, cough, fever, and ulcers. Scientific reports on the phytochemical analysis of this genus has so far revealed more than 123 compounds from this genus, including terpenoids, flavonoids, lignans, sterols, and polyphenols, have been isolated. Various biological activities have been exhibited by these compounds, such as antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antiurolithiatic, anthelmintic, diuretic, antinoceceptive, antidiabetic, antiviral,, and immunomodulatory. In this article, we mainly emphasize the phytochemical composition, therapeutic applications, and ethnopharmacological values of various species of genus Urtica.