**5. Conclusion**

Phenolic compounds and other bionutrients are abundant in medicinal plants. Phenolic compounds have several biotechnological applications in different industries. Their exploitation is mainly due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, colouring, among other properties, specially explored for food preservation, by the food and packing industries, cosmetic and also the textile industry. Polyphenolic extracts are attractive ingredients for cosmetics and pharmacy due to their beneficial biological properties. Numerous studies conducted over the last two–three decades have demonstrated that these Phenolic compounds play a vital role in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and coronary heart disease, among others. Dietary fibre, antioxidants, anticancer, detoxifying agents, immunity-enhancing agents, and neuropharmacological agents are the major classes of Phenolic compounds with diseasepreventive properties. Each of these functional agents are composed of a diverse array of chemicals with varying degrees of potency. There is, however, considerable room for additional systematic research aimed at identifying these Phenolic compounds in medicinal plants and evaluating their potential to protect against a variety of diseases.
