**3. Conclusions**

Although bamboo has been used for centuries by the Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is still a group of plant under investigated regarding its medicinal properties. In Asian countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan, among others, the most used species have already been studied regarding their biological properties and chemical composition. On the other hand, in Southern American countries, where a huge bamboo diversity is available, very little has been done to access its medicinal properties.

Several species have shown an important antioxidant potential demonstrating that they can be applied in the treatment of different diseases such as antiinflammatory, antitumor, and several other ailments involving oxidative processes. Additionally, besides the usual secondary metabolites, bamboo extracts may contain biologically active peptides and polysaccharides. The combined effect of these macromolecules with polyphenols and other metabolites may lead to multiple biological effects, such as antifree radical, antiaging, antifatigue, antibacteria, antivirus, and as a functional dietary supplement, cosmetic ingredient, and food additive.
