Cistaceae plant family is one of the most under-investigated families in our region. Few plants of this family were reasonably studied, but most of them were either totally “ignored” or very limitedly published. Those that were studied reveal the richness in special natural products that have unique structures with special sub-units. Even traditional medicines worldwide made very little use of these plants, compared with other plant families that grow in Israel and Palestine. In this short review article, we will present some ethnomedicinal uses of this family's plants, along with a comprehensive literature survey of medicinal, biological and other activities published by modern research. The presentation will include tables and figures for the convenience of readers. The discussion section will focus on some of the studies about chemistry and the biochemistry of the special natural products of this family and the importance of accurate scientific reporting. To the best of our knowledge, a review article about this plant family of our region was never published and it will be a significant contribution since very few review articles about this family were published hitherto. Conclusions and future research recommendations are presented for the benefit of interested scholars.
Key words: Antibacterial activity; Cistaceae; Essential oil; Labdane diterpenes; Manool; Manoyl oxide
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