Today, there is an increased tendency to use herbal remedies. Rhubarb refers to several species of the genus Rheum L. in the Polygonaceae family. This species-rich genus is mainly distributed in Asian countries. Several medicinal effects have been attributed to the Rheum spp. in the traditional and modern medicine such as healing lungs, liver, kidney, womb and bladder diseases, cancer, diabetes, insect bites, relapsing fevers, diarrhea and constipation. Various in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies have investigated the therapeutic effect of extracts, fractions and pure compounds isolated from different species of this genus. Considering the positive findings, several pharmaceutical formulations containing rhubarb extract like capsules, drops, mouthwashes and different topical formulations are now present in the market. However, there are other traditional therapeutic effects of rhubarb that have not been studied yet and it is of great importance to perform confirmatory experiments or clinical investigations. The current review summarizes general information regarding botany, phytochemistry, ethnobotany and pharmacological aspects of Rheum spp. It is hoped that the present review could motivate subsequent research on the other medicinal properties of these plants that have been neglected until today.
Keywords: Ethnobotany; Polygonaceae; Rheum; Rhubarb; Traditional medicine.