Abstract The plant Carya illinoinensis belongs to the Juglandaceae family and is native of the south of the United States and north of Mexico, but are also cultivated in other regions of the world, such as South America, Australia, North Africa, Palestine, China, India, France, Spain and North Africa. Traditionally it has been used for the treatment of various ailments such as inflammation, rheumatism, jaundice and malaria. Following various folk claims for cure numerous diseases, efforts have been made by researcher to verify the efficacy of the plant through scientific biological screenings. The plant contains saponins, alkaloids, steroids, tannins, flavonoids and triterpenoids are the main phytoconstituents. A scrutiny of literature revealed some notable pharmacological activities like anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-microbial, antihyperlipidemic activities. The present review is an attempt to highlight the various ethanobotanical and traditional uses as well as phytochemical and pharmacological reports on Carya illinoinensis.
Keywords Carya illinoinensis, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities.