Introduction:

Different species of the Myristicaceae family have been used for medicinal, nutritional and industrial purposes, showing the importance and potential of the family in various fields. Medicinal use has been primordial for different indigenous communities and has been increasing as an alternative for the treatment of diseases, for which research is concentrating on herbal medicine and medicinal plants, being this the first step for the development and innovation of pharmaceuticals. Among the types of drugs, enzymatic inhibitors, which act by regulating metabolic processes or attacking pathogens, stand out.

Objectives:

To gather information on the herbalism of the Myristicaceae family including aspects of phytochemistry, ethnobotany, industrial uses, biological activity and to determine possible secondary metabolites that produce enzymatic inhibition and biological activity.

Methodology:

The search for information was carried out using scientific articles, specialized books and degree theses.

Results and conclusions:

Phenolic compounds of type: acylphenol, lignan, neolignan, flavonoid, alkenylphenol, tocotrienol and phenolic acid were found to produce enzymatic inhibition. Phenolic compounds identified in species of the Myristicaceae family are a promising source of metabolites that produce enzymatic inhibition. Lignan-type metabolites were the ones that presented the greatest number of enzymatic inhibition studies. The information analyzed can serve as a basis for the development of research on the structure-activity relationship andlor molecular coupling between secondary metabolites and inhibited enzymes, with species of the Myristicaceae family.