The ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and biological properties of genus (Asteraceae): a review.

The genus Cass., included within the Asteraceae family, has a wide distribution, expanding from Macaronesia in the West to the Himalayas in the East, from S. France and N. Italy to Ethiopia and Arabian Peninsula. Various species of have been used in the popular medicine of several countries as medicinal herbs and food. This literature review, the first one of the genus, includes publications with the word '', and considers the extracts and the single metabolites identified, characterized, and tested to evaluate their biological potential. The extracts and the secondary metabolites, have a varied application spectrum at a biological level, with antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antitumor, etc. properties having been reported. Unfortunately, tests have not always been accompanied by tests, and this is the major critical aspect that emerges from the study of the scientific aspects related to this genus.