Medicinal Plants from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Used as Immunostimulants

Table 1

Medicinal plants with pharmacological evidence of their immunostimulant effects.

Family	Scientific name	Common name	Plant part	Other popular uses	Reference
Acanthaceae	Carlowrightia cordifolia A. Gray	Arnica	Lv	AI	[17]
	Justicia spicigera Schltdl.	Muicle	Lv	DB, CA	[18]
Anacardiaceae	Amphipterygium adstringens (Schltdl.) Standl.	Cuachalalate	Bk	SA, DG, CA	[19]
Asteraceae	Bidens pilosa L.	Aceitilla	Wp	DB, DI, SA, CA	[20]
	Psacalium peltatum (Kunth) Cass.	Matarique	Rt	WH, BP, CA	[21]
	Tridax procumbens L.	Ghamra	Ap	WH	[22]
	Xanthium strumarium L.	Guizazo de caballo	Rt	DU, CA	[23]
Bignoniaceae	Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) G. Nicholson	Guayacan	Bk	AI, DB, SA	[24]
Cactaceae	Lophocereus schottii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose	Garambullo	Sm	CO, DB, SA, CA	[25]
	Lophophora williamsii (Lem. ex Salm-Dyck) J. M. Coult.	Peyote	Tb	BP, CA	[26]
Caricaceae	Carica papaya L.	Papaya	Fr	SA, DG, DI, CA	[27]
Euphorbiaceae	Euphorbia cotinifolia L.	Palito lechero	Latex	AI	[28]
	Euphorbia hirta L.	Tártago de jardín	Ap	AV	[29]
	Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch	Nochebuena	Ap	AI, CO, FL, CA	[28]
	Hura crepitans L.	Ceiba	Lv	AI	[28]
Fabaceae	Hymenaea courbaril L.	Guapinol	Bk	DU, AP	[30]
	Mucuna urens (L.) Medik.	Tortera	Bk	DU	[31]
	Phaseolus vulgaris L.	Frijol	Sd	DI, BP	[32]
Hypericaceae	Hypericum perforatum L.	Hierba de San Juan	Wp	DP, WH	[33]
Lauraceae	Persea americana Mill.	Aguacate	Lv	AH, BP, WH, CA	[34]
Molluginaceae	Mollugo verticillata L.	Hierba de la arena	Ap	AI	[35]
Nyctaginaceae	Bougainvillea × buttiana Holttum & Standl.	Bugambilia	Fw	SA, CO	[36]
Phyllanthaceae	Phyllanthus niruri L.	Chancapiedra	Ap	AI, DU, CA	[37]
Phytolaccaceae	Petiveria alliacea L.	Anamú	Ap	AI, SA, BP, CA	[38]
Plantaginaceae	Plantago virginica L.	Platano	Lv	AI	[39]
Rubiaceae	Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC.	Uña de gato	Bk	AV, CA	[40]
Santalaceae	Phoradendron serotinum (Raf.) M. C. Johnst.	Muerdago	Lv	DB, CA	[41]
Talinaceae	Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd.	Espinaca	Lv	CA, AV, DB	[42]
Urticaceae	Phenax rugosus (Poir.) Wedd.	Parietaria	Wp	WH, AV	[43]

Other popular uses: AP: antiparasitic; AI: anti-inflammatory; AV: antiviral; BP: body pain; CA: cancer; CO: cough; DG: digestive; DI: diarrhea; DU: diuretic; DP: depression; FL: flu; SA: stomachache; TB: tuberculosis; WH: wound healing. Plant part: Ap: aerial parts; Bk: bark; Br: branches; Fr: fruit; Lv: leaves; Fw: flower; Rb: root bark; Rt: root; Sd: seeds; Sm: stem; Tb: tubercle; Wp: whole plant.