Exploration of metabolomics of Phyllanthus emblica: From ayurveda food to modern prospectives in quality control

Phyllanthus emblica (Euphorbiaceae), commonly known as synergy of food is frequently in dietary teems lime jam, prickle, vegan diet and traditional herbal medicines. The various compounds responsible for the biological activities are ascorbic acid, catechols, polyphenols, and hydrolyzable tannins. The current review article highlighted the role of metabolite profiling, marker-based quality protocols, and pharmacological activities in developing the functional food for health benefit. Considerable preclinical evidences on its anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, potential and human trials on non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease, osteoarthritis and obesity have been reported about P. emblica fruits. The current challenges in the development of P. emblica based function food have critically been reviewed. The variabilities in chemical flux, biological activity at crude extract level, non-standardized formulations and non-availability of validated protocols are some major gaps in spite of large number of research reports appeared in last three decades. Further, in-depth metabolomics and bio-marker based quality assessment are required to develop the pharmacological active of the standardized P. emblica functional food and herbal medicines to unveil the importance of the phytocompound(s) in the observed health benefits.