The objective of this study is to study the biodiversity of Polygonum and to
review its pharmacological properties and phytochemical compositions of
via electronic literature search. The chemical composition, biological
actions and the medicinal characteristics of P. minus (kesum) were
mentioned in the articles. The chemical constituents include the
polyphenols such as the flavonoids. The extracts were reported as antidiabetic,
anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer. This review is
presented, in parallel with the laboratory experiments involving the
separation of the Polygonum leaves extract using Thin Layer
Chromatography. It is expected that the phytochemical data of the leaves
would depend on the hydrophobicity of the aprotic solvent during the
extraction procedure.