ABSTRACT
Trema orientale (L.) Blume is an important medicinal plant with multiple applications for treating several disease conditions. This study compiled published data on botanical, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and antimicrobials, coupled with discussing the conservation and domestication potential of T. orientale. Data were sourced from databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Elsevier Plants of the World Online (Kew Science), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and World Flora Online (WFO), using key search terms: Trema orientale or orientalis, phytochemistry pharmacology, taxonomy, and domestication with Boolean operators to include and exclude articles for the review. The review indicated that molecular studies have shown that T. orientale is closely related to a sister group of Cannabis through plastome phylogenetic evidence which accounts for its transfer from Ulmaceae to the Cannabaceae family. T. orientale is distributed across several African countries and has recently been assessed as the Least Concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Nevertheless, deforestation continues to pose an extinction risk to their population. Currently, 31 compounds have been isolated from different parts of T. orientale justifying many traditional uses accredited to it. T. orientale is considered a dose-dependent safe remedy for the treatment of infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other disease conditions ascribed to it except for its continuous application. This review underscores the domestication potential of T. orientale including evidence of molecular markers, soil seed banks, and promising outcomes of germination experimentations. This, therefore, presents significant gains toward sustainable utilization of Trema orientale.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants represent a valuable source for new effective and safe antimicrobial drugs making them an alternative therapy. Existing antimicrobial agents are costly and mostly associated with possible side effects. The aim of the present study therefore, was to assess the antimicrobial property and phytochemical composition of hydroethanolic extract of Tapinanthus bangwensis leaves and its fractions. METHOD: T. bangwensis leaves (harvested from its host plant, Persea americana) was extracted by cold maceration with 70% ethanol and further fractionated with different organic solvents using the solvent partitioning method to obtain the crude extract, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and the resulting aqueous fractions. The phytochemical constituents of the extracts were screened and quantified. Also, the TLC of the extracts were analyzed to serve as a fingerprint. Using the agar diffusion and broth dilution methods, the antimicrobial properties of the extracts were assessed. RESULTS: The study showed that the hydroethanolic (70%) crude extract of T. bangwensis leaves and its fractions contain phenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, phytosterols and reducing sugars. The phytoconstituents were well extracted into the ethyl acetate fraction than the other fractions evidenced in the high levels (p < 0.0001) of saponins (66.47 ± 1.72% w/w), phenolic compounds (77.75 ± 1.06 mg/100 mg GAE) and flavonoids (44.34 ± 0.06 mg/100 mg QE) contents. From the antimicrobial studies, all the microorganisms tested exhibited varying degrees of susceptibility to the extracts with MIC values between 0.78 to 12.5 mg/mL. The crude extract of T. bangwensis leaves, its ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions also exhibited lethal antimicrobial activity with MLC between 6.25 to 50 mg/mL. CONCLUSION: The crude extract of T. bangwensis leaves and its fractions demonstrated antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Candida albicans, thereby representing a potential source of natural antimicrobial agent. Further study is required to identify and isolate antimicrobial compounds from the plant for the development of the natural bioactive antimicrobial agents.
