Peumus boldus (Boldo) is a plant belonging to the family Monimiaceae. It is mainly found in South America (Chile), as well as in the Mediterranean region. It has several uses in traditional medicine. Some pharmacopoeias have also acknowledged it as an herbal remedy used mainly for the management of liver complaints. In addition, it is considered an herbal remedy for gastrointestinal ailments gallbladder, rheumatism, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-atherosclerotic, hypoglycemic, and cytoprotective, as well as effective against the pathogenic bacterium Helicobacter pylori.

The leaves and bark of boldo, the main part of the plant, are known for their richness in alkaloids, with boldine being the most abundant alkaloid detected in boldo. Alkaloids are the main bioactive components of boldo and are responsible for its main pharmacological activity.

In general, boldo has many biological activities:

1. Antioxidant activity: in some experiments, boldo leaf extracts showed quite significant antioxidant activity;
2. Antimicrobial activity: boldo is a promising option for the management of atopic bacterial overgrowth;
3. Anti-parasitic activity: boldo reduces parasitic infections in leishmaniasis;
4. Insecticidal effect: boldo essential oil has shown powerful insecticidal activity in several studies;
5. Anticancer activity: boldo can decrease cell viability and cause cell death via an intrinsic apoptotic pathway;
6. Nephroprotective effect: studies have found that boldo is very protective against nephrotoxicity caused by the anticancer drug cisplatin;
7. Hepatoprotective activity: boldo was found to have antioxidant activity and to increase the expression of antioxidant genes in a study of histopathological changes induced by Amistar fungicide in male rats;
8. Gastroprotective activity: boldo was found to have considerable gastroprotective activity in a study of ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in mice.

Abouelela, M. B., Naimy, R. A., Elshafey, O. A., Mahmoud, M. M., Elgez, M. M., Ahmed, M. M., … & ElGindi, O. (2023). Boldo phytochemical and pharmacological activities updated Mini-review. ERU Research Journal, 1-12. [Link]