Phytochemical constituents of Lallemantia royleana (balangu) essential oil: A review

Abstract

The aromatic plant Lallemantia royleana which is typically named as balangu in the Lamiaceae family. It is an abundant source of biologically active compounds such as terpenoids. Owing to the expanding attention in its phytochemical profile and prospective pharmacological effects, the current review aims to summarize some of crucial compounds in essential oil of Lallemantia royleana. A narrative literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar with the keywords "Lallemantia royleana", "essential oil", "GC-MS", "volatile compounds", and "biological activities" covering studies published between 2003 and 2025.The present research was reviewed to detect the main volatile oil chemicals and outline their documented pharmacological properties. The reviewed research frequently identified some of crucial chemicals which are classified as oxygenated terpenoids and are found majorly in the essential oils of Lallemantia royleana (e.g., trans-pinocarvyl acetate, pinocarvone, verbenone, and β-citral). They are assumed to play a part in the herb antioxidant, antimicrobial (antifungal and antibacterial), and sedative properties. However, the biological participation of single chemical and their prospective synergistic interplay are still to be described. The evidence outlined in the current review is mainly obtained from phytochemical analysis of essential oil in the plant (GC/MS) and in vitro experimental study. This review has some restrictions such as its narrative pharmacological activity according to data collected from previously published studies, the reviewed approach, the lack of a systematic literature selection, selection method, and the small number of available researches. Overall, the existing evidence indicates that Lallemantia royleana essential oil is an encouraging source of biologically active compounds with prospective therapeutic and industrial utilizations. However, more consistent phytochemical assessments and properly structured clinical research are needed to validate its effectiveness and safety profile.