Abstract
Traditional medicinal practices play a key role in health care systems in countries with developing economies. The aim of this survey was to validate the use of traditional medicine within local Nigerian communities. In this review, we examine the ethnobotanical uses of selected plant species from the Nigerian flora and attempt to correlate the activities of the isolated bioactive principles with known uses of the plant species in African traditional medicine. Thirty-three (33) plant species were identified and about 100 out of the 120 compounds identified with these plants matched with the ethnobotanical uses of the plants.
Highlights
It is estimated that 66–85 % of the world’s population depends directly on plants as medicines [1,2,3]
We examine the ethnobotanical uses of selected plant species from the Nigerian flora and attempt to correlate the activities of the isolated bioactive principles with known uses of the plant species in African traditional medicine
The results presented in this review represent an overview of the biological activities of selected natural products (NPs) isolated from plants used in traditional medicine in Nigeria
Summary
It is estimated that 66–85 % of the world’s population depends directly on plants as medicines [1,2,3]. Seven compounds with anti-malarial properties; akuammicine (11), akuammine (12), alstonine (13), picraline (14), picratidine (15) picranitidine (16) and w-akuammigine (17) have been isolated from the stem bark and seeds of Picralima nitida (Apocynaceae), a plant used in the treatment of malaria and in the management of pains and other ailments [55, 56] Based on these results, an enterprising Ghanaian hospital started manufacturing standardised 250 mg capsules of the powdered P. nitida seed, and sold around the country where they became widely accepted as a safe and effective pain relief product. The anti-malarial activity of ursolic acid (21), derived from Spathodea campanulata (Bignoniaceae), popularly known as African tulip tree, has been used to endorse the use of the plant in southwestern Nigeria for malaria treatment by drinking the decoction of its stem bark [44].
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