Ethnopharmacological relevance:Securidacalongipedunculata Fresen(Polygalaceae)isamulti-purpose
plant withalonghistoryofuseinAfricantraditionalmedicinetotreatvarioussexuallytransmitted
infections, hernias,coughs,fever,ascariasis,constipation,headaches,rheumatism,stomachache,
malaria, tuberculosis,pain,epilepsy,pneumonia,skininfections,anditisalsousedasanaphrodisiac
for
... [Show full abstract] men.Thecurrentpaperprovidesanoverviewofthepresentphytochemistry,toxicology,ethnome-
dicinal usesandpharmacologicalpropertiesof S. longipedunculata.
Materials andmethods: Theinformationreportedinthispaperwascollectedfromaliteraturesearchusing
variouscomputeriseddatabasesincludingScienceDirect,Scopus,Scielo,PubMedandGoogleScholar.Theextra
information wassourcedfromvariousacademic dissertations,thesesandbotanicalbooks.
Results: Phytochemically,extractsfromvariouspartsof S.longipedunculata, especiallytherootbark,contain
numerousvaluablecompoundsincludingxanthones,somebenzylbenzoatesandtriterpenesaponinsamongst
others.Toxicitystudies,both in vivo and in vitro, revealedthatextractsareonlytoxicatrelativelyhigh
concentrations.Furthermore,extractshaveantimicrobial,antioxidant,antiparasitic,anti-diabetic,anti-inflammatory,antimalarial,insecticidal,pesticidal,andanticonvulsantproperties.
Conclusions:S.longipedunculata is animportantplantspecieswithpotentialbenefits inthetreatmentof
transmissibleandinfectiousdiseases, includingmalaria,tuberculosis,and thosecausedbycommunityacquired
microorganisms.Althoughextractsfrom this speciesgenerallyhavelittletoxicityatlowconcentrations,further
effortsarerequiredtoinvestigatethepotentialtoxicityof S. longipedunculata. Theantimicrobialpropertiesof
extractsandpurifiedcompoundsagainstmicroorganismscausingsexuallytransmittedinfectionsarealso
deservingoffurtherresearch.Moreover,thepharmacokineticpropertiesofextractsandcompoundsofthe
speciesneedtobeexploredasthereisinsufficient dataavailableontheseaspects.