Unveiling the pharmacological promise of Tamarix chinensis Lour: An integrative review of phytochemical constituents, therapeutic potentials, and mechanistic pathways

• Revealed the traditional medicinal uses of Tamarix chinensis Lour (TCL). • Comprehensive phytochemical profiling of TCL was discussed. • Pharmacological evidence supports TCL’s therapeutic and biological activities. • Emphasizes the urgent need for clinical validation and quality control standards. • Molecular docking studies of the major TCL compounds were illustrated. Tamarix chinensis Lour (TCL) is a known arid plant belonging to the family Tamaricaceae, widely distributed near the Yellow River Delta, northeastern Shandong Province of China. The researchers have mainly focused on heat and salt alkaline resistance properties of TCL, but recently, it has gained significant attention for its wide range of pharmacological and therapeutically bioactive ingredients. The flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, volatiles, and other miscellaneous compounds are vital bioactive substances that demonstrate hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, lung protection, anticancer, anti-complement, antidiabetic, neurological protection, and other bioactivities. This comprehensive review summarized the traditional medicinal uses, phytochemistry, therapeutic potential, and mechanistic insights, consolidating the current research on the medicinal potential of TCL . The information about TCL was collected from different reliable scholarly resources, like Chinese digital library, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed. Molecular docking was used to predict the interaction between six major compounds (Ellagic acid, Gallic acid, Isorhamnetin, Kaempferol, Quercetin, and Tamarixetin) and four target proteins, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). These compounds demonstrated a significant binding affinity to TNF-alpha and ellagic acid showed bonding with IL-6 and showed the potential effects as antitumor and anti-inflammatory. There is a critical need to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms of therapeutic properties underlying TCL efficacy and to establish robust quality standards and regulatory frameworks that ensure safety comparable to that of Western pharmaceuticals. The current evidence on the pharmacological properties of this plant explores that this plant could be a hopeful contender for drug development.