Evaluation of pharmacological properties, phytochemistry, and medicinal uses of Baccharoides guineensis

ABSTRACT

The leaves, roots, and/or tubers of Baccharoides guineensis are used as traditional medicines in West Africa. Thisstudy is aimed to evaluate the pharmacological properties, photochemistry, and medicinal uses of B. guineensis. Theresults of this study are based on data derived from online databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed,ScienceDirect, and MEDLINE and pre-electronic sources such as scientific publications, theses, books, dissertations,book chapters, and journal articles. This study revealed that the leaves, roots, and/or tubers of B. guineensis are widelyused as anthelmintic, snakebite antidote, and ethnoveterinary medicine and as traditional medicine for toothache,gastrointestinal problems, jaundice, malaria, female, and male infertility. Phytochemical compounds identified fromthe species include anthraquinones, ceramide, fatty acids, flavonoids, glycerol esters, sesquiterpene lactones, steroids,stigmatanes, sucrose esters, and triterpenoids. The pharmacological research revealed that B. guineensis extracts andphytochemical compounds isolated from the species have antioxidant, anthelmintic, antiangiogenic, antibacterial,antiplasmodial, antiproliferative, antitrypanosidal, clonogenic, and antifungal activities. The future research on B.guineensis should focus on the possible biochemical mechanisms of both the crude extracts and phytochemicalcompounds including the toxicological, in vivo, and clinical studies to corroborate the traditional medicinal applicationsof the species.