Abstract
Objective: To carry out a literature revision on botanical taxonomy, phytochemistry and biological activities of Palicourea hoffmannseggiana (Schult.) Borhidi. Literature Revision: The Rubiaceae family and the genera Psychotria and Palicourea proved to be important sources of bioactive compounds. Botanically the two genera are considered morphologically very similar. However, studies on molecular phylogeny have shown that tropical species of the subgenus Heteropsychotria, until then belonging to the genus Psychotria, are more related to tropical species of the genus Palicourea, and a taxonomic reorganization of these genera was done, transferring species of the subgenus Heteropsychotria to the genus Palicourea. Regarding the phytochemistry of Palicourea hoffmannseggiana (Schult.) Borhidi and its synonyms the literature reports the isolation and identification of 20 secondary metabolites, 11 of which are alkaloids that disclosed biological activities, such as antidepressant, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory, among others. Final considerations: The literature revision demonstrated the presence of several potentially antimalarial natural products in Palicourea hoffmannseggiana (Schult.) Borhidi, such as alkaloids, naphthoquinones and iridoides. However, no report on the antimalarial evaluation of this species and its synonims was found what justifies the proposal of investigating this effect of this plant species.