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Published:
Mar 17, 2019Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Review of Ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry of <i>Acacia ataxacantha</i>
Abstract
Methods: Information on the medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of A. ataxacantha was collected from several sources including books, theses, scientific reports and journal articles obtained from internet sources such as SciFinder, Web of Science, Pubmed, BMC, Elsevier, Science Direct, Scielo and Scopus.
Results: Acacia ataxacantha is an important herbal medicine in tropical Africa used against abscesses, backache, cough, dental caries and toothache, headache, malaria, pneumonia, sores and wounds, and stomach problems. The chemical constituents of A. ataxacantha include alkaloids, anthracene derivatives, carbohydrates, coumarins, flavonoids, lignan, naphtoquinone, polyphenols, reducing sugars, saponins, steroids, tannins, terpenoids and triterpenoids. The biological activities demonstrated include antibacterial, antifungal, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, laxative and ulceroprotective.
Conclusion: The phytochemical properties and pharmacological activities of A. ataxacantha lend some support for the traditional medicinal applications of the species against several diseases.
Keywords: Acacia ataxacantha, Ethnopharmacology, Herbal medicine, Indigenous medicinal knowledge, Primary health, Tropical Africa
