Talinum Triangulare (Water Leaf): What a Wonderful Plant?

Abstract

The importance of nutraceutical plants and the contribution of phytomedicine to the well-being of quite a large number of people and their animals worldwide has attracted interest from a variety of disciplines. Nutraceutical plants have proved to be very important in medicinal plants research and because of the bioactive compounds that these plants possess, they are useful in drug research and development. This article reviewed the bioactive constituents of Talinum triangulare; its therapeutic and nutritional importance as well as the usefulness of its bioactive compounds in agricultural settings. Bioactive components such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, phlobatannin, anthraquinones, steroid, terpenes, phenols, cardiac glycoside were reported to be present in T. triangulare. T. triangulare has been implicated medically in the management of cardiovascular diseases like stroke, obesity and this was attributed to the presence of some bioactive compounds such as flavonoids and antioxidants in this plant. T. triangulare was also reported to contain some important minerals such as ß-carotene, minerals (such as calcium, potassium and magnesium), pectin, protein and vitamins. Investigations involved inclusion of T. triangulare dried powder as additive in the feed and inclusion of the leaf extract in drinking water were also reported to improve growth performance as well as immune system of both aquatic and terrestrial animals respectfully. It is therefore concluded that T. triangulare leaves can contribute significantly to the health management of Man and animal and should be recommended to be included in the daily nutritional requirement of both Man and animal.