Recent Advances on Pharmacology and Chemistry of <i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i> over the last decade (2012-2021)

Abstract

<i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i>, widely known under its trade name "ilomba", is a medicinal plant from the family Myristicaceae that has occupied a prominent place in African traditional medicine for several decades; its broad application to treat numerous diseases, including malaria, bacterial infections and most recently COVID-19. The various chemical studies undertaken on the plant identified many classes of specialized compounds, including quinone-terpenoids, lignans and isoflavonoids, as the most abundant and bioactive components. The plant is defined as a major asset in developing new potent drugs and deserves further investigation in this regard. This mini-review aims to compile the newly documented findings on the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of<i> P. angolensis</i> over the last decade from 2012 to 2021. In this regard, a literature search using the keyword <i>Pycnanthus</i> has been done without language restriction in numerous online libraries, including Scifinder, PubMed, Google Scholar, and only papers on <i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i> published after 2011 have been exploited during the writing.