Abstract

Meliaceae are widely distributed across the world in tropical or subtropical climates and are of considerable ethnobotanical importance as sources of traditional medicine and cosmetics. This comprehensive review summarizes the ethnobotanical uses and chemistry of 12 South African species, belonging to six genera: Ekebergia, Nymania, Entandrophragma, Pseudobersama, Trichilia, and Turraea. Eight of the species have ethnomedicinal records, classified into 17 major disease categories. The ethnomedicinal uses comprise 85 ailments dominated by gastrointestinal complaints, followed by gynaecological and obstetrics related problems. Chemical records were found for 10 species, which describe nine classes of compounds. In nearly all South African Meliaceae, limonoids are the predominant constituents while triterpenes, sterols, and coumarins are also common. The widest range of use-records and medicinal applications are found with the two most chemically diverse species, Ekebergia capensis and Trichilia emetica. Of the chemical compounds identified in the various plant organs of the 10 species of South African Meliaceae for which data are available, 42% was found in bark and 17% in seeds. Roots represent 35% and bark 33% of the organs that are used medicinally, and they are typically prepared as decoctions or infusions. Root and bark harvesting are destructive so that it may be important to examine the chemistry of plant parts such as wild-crafted leaves and fruits.

Highlights

  • Ethnobotany is the cultural study of the practical uses of a region’s plants by the local people

  • The aim of this study is to present a detailed and comprehensive review of the ethnobotanical uses and compounds that have been previously isolated from South African indigenous Meliaceae, which can be used for comparisons at a continental and global level

  • The species of South African Meliaceae have been reportedly used for a diversity of purposes from medicinal, to rituals, to functional uses

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Summary

Introduction

Ethnobotany is the cultural study of the practical uses of a region’s plants by the local people. It is interdisciplinary and can often progress into a lab-based collaborative project with the vision of benefiting modern society in the form of wild food crops, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, or cosmetics [1]. By recording traditional plant use, indigenous knowledge and belief systems are conserved [2] and incentives for biodiversity conservation are realized. The cultures of the African people represent a minority that have continued practicing holistic environmentalism that utilises raw plant-based materials for food, medicines, as pesticides or tools and in spiritual pursuits including rituals [5]. Most South Africans rely on traditional medicine as a first line of treatment

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