Ethnopharmacological Relevance:
Lannea microcarpa is an African herbal medicinal plant by a pan-African distribution and huge native medicinal and non-medicinal applications. The plant is use traditionally as a medicine for many diseases such as mouth blisters, rheumatism, dysentery, sore throat, as a dressing on boils, as a cathartic, livestock feed, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, malaria, dysentery, infection from bacteria, toothaches, gastroenteritis, female infertility, in blood pressure, oedema, coughing, cathartic, poisoning, and burns. It is also use in the manufacture of the cloths termed ‘basilan fini’ widely related with the concept of healing (medicine applied on cloth).
Aim of the Review:
This review aims to assemble an up-to-date review of the advancement made in the continuous pharmacological and phytochemical study of Lannea microcarpa and the consistent commercial and therapeutic application of it. These findings are with the ultimate objective of providing a guide for upcoming research on this plant.
Method:
The assessment is systematically directed by searching the database of MEDLINE, PubMed, Springer, BMC, the Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, ChemSpider and Science Direct for original research articles and books using related search terms.
Result:
Pharmacological studies verified the capability of this plant as it showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activity. Bioactive constituents are found to be present in all parts of the plant. So far, this plant having high antioxidant capabilities, Lannea microcarpa are composed of many chemical compounds such as vitexin, lipids, proteins & amino acids, epi-catechin, gallic acid, myricetin, iso-Vitexin, fatty acid, carbohydrates, and tannins. This plant possesses antioxidant and antimicrobial properties owing to the presence of polyphenolics & flavonoids constituents. Novel compounds with potent anti-inflammatory effect such 4’-methoxy-myricetin 3-O-β-L-rhamnopyranoside, myricetin 3-O-α -L-rhamnopyranoside, and myricetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside among others, have been identified. Mircoparticles formulation of Lannea microcarpa were also prepared and further studies are still going on.
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