Probing Gallic Acid for Its Broad Spectrum Applications.

Gallic acid and its derivatives not only exhibit excellent antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, antimicrobial properties but also provide protection to the cells against oxidative stress. Gallic acid (3, 4, 5-trihydroxybenzoic acid), a low molecular triphenolic compound emerged as an efficient apoptosis inducing agent. The antimicrobial and other biological properties of gallic acid and its derivatives seemed to be linked with the hydrolysis of ester linkage between gallic acid and polyols like tannins hydrolyzed after ripening of many edible fruits. Gallic acid serves a natural defense mechanism against microbial infections and modulation of immune responses. The current review updates us with the diverse roles played by gallic acid, its antioxidant potential, action mechanism and more importantly the diverse array of applications in therapeutic and pharmaceutical areas.

Medicinal importance of gallic acid and its ester derivatives: a patent review.

Gallic acid and its derivatives have a large number of applications in various fields of science. In nature, these compounds are widely distributed in plants and fruits, and thus they are being used as food stuffs, preservatives, etc. directly or indirectly by human community. They have also been implicated as anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, antimutagenic, antiangiogenic and anti-inflammatory agents besides their use in treating critical diseases like depression, cancer, microbial infections, lipid-related diseases, etc. Herein, an attempt has been made to summarize the important uses of gallic acid derivatives which have extensively been disclosed particularly in various patents. This review would certainly create a great interest of the scientific community toward the developments and uses of gallic acid based compounds in the future.