Background:

The Physalis L. genus is a berry type fruit, known as golden berry, aguaymanto, capulí, uvilla, cape gooseberry and has been used to treat some diseases.

Objective:

To review the scientific literature on the therapeutic effects of Physalis species: Physalis peruviana L., Physalis angulata L., Physalis ixocarpa L., and Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii L.

Materials and Methods:

A search was carried out in the bases of data Web of Science, Medline/ PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, with the keywords Physalis peruviana L, Physalis angulata L., Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii L., Physalis ixocarpa L. and clinical trials.

Results:

Were found 49 articles in the Web of Science database, 14 in Medline/PubMed, 968 in Scopus, and 129 in ScienceDirect. Of 1160 studies identified, only 32 were accepted studies for the research data. The articles demonstrate therapeutic effects of Physalis in in vivo studies.

Conclusion:

This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic effects of the genus Physalis L, supported by a large body of scientific experiments. The therapeutic properties found were antihepatotoxic, antinephrotoxic, anticancer, antidiabetic, antineurotoxic, antioxidant, antineurodegenerative, antibacterial, analgesic, renoprotective, antiasthmatic, anticholesterolemic, diuretic, antihistamine, antiinflammatory, and antiulcer effects.

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