Ziziphus mucronata Willd. (Rhamnaceae): it's botany, toxicity, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities

Heliyon
2020.0

Abstract

Ziziphus mucronata is an important multi-purpose plant species that has been used in African traditional medicine for ages in the treatment of various devastating human and animal infections. The current paper is aimed at providing an overview of uses, toxicology, pharmacological properties and phytochemistry of Z. mucronata. The information used in the current work was retrieved using various search engines, including Pubmed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scielo, SciFinder and Scopus. The key words used included Ziziphus mucronata, secondary metabolites, chemistry, biological activity and pharmacology, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, ethnobotanical survey, medicinal uses, safety, toxicology and other related words. Out of the 46 infections which the plant species is used to treat, the most common uses includes sexually transmitted infections, skin infections, diarrhoea and dysentery, respiratory and chest complaints and gynaecological complaints (citations >= 6). Pharmacologically, the plant species exhibited a potential antimicrobial activity yielding a minimum inhibitory concentration of <1 mg/ml against important pathogens which includes Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Propionibacterium acnes, Candida albicans, Cryptoccoos neoformans amongst other microorganisms. Furthermore, the extracts and compounds from Z mucronata revealed potent antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other activities in vitro. Phytochemically, cyclo-peptide alkaloids (commonly called mucronines) dominates and in conjunction with triterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic acids and anthocyanins. Besides these compounds, the plant species exhibited the presence of important in minerals. These phytoconstituents may well explain the reported biological activities. Although the extracts revealed no cytotoxic effect to Vero cells, further toxicological characteristics of the plant species still needs to be explored. There is also a need to carry out the comprehensive safety profiles of the plant species, including heavy metal detection. Although the plant species revealed important biological activities, which includes antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-plasmodial, anthelmintic, and anti-anaemic activity in vitro, further research is needed to explore the in vivo studies, other compounds responsible for such activities and the mechanisms of action thereof. Such activities validates the use of the plant species in traditional medicine. The data on the possible use of the plant species in the treatment of diarrhoea, sexually transmitted infections, skin related and gynaecological complaints are scant and still needs to be explored and validated both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the anticancer and anthelmintic activity of the plant species also needs to be explored.

Knowledge Graph

Similar Paper

Ziziphus mucronata Willd. (Rhamnaceae): it's botany, toxicity, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities
Heliyon 2020.0
Genus Ziziphus: A comprehensive review on ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and pharmacological properties
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2020.0
Ziziphus nummularia: A Comprehensive Review of Its Phytochemical Constituents and Pharmacological Properties
Molecules 2022.0
A detailed assessment of the traditional applications, bioactive content, pharmacology, and toxicity of Rhizophora mucronata
Journal of Herbal Medicine 2023.0
Ziziphus oenoplia Mill.: A Systematic Review on Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of an Important Traditional Medicinal Plant
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 2022.0
A synthesis and review of medicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities of Markhamia zanzibarica
International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences 2020.0
PHYTOCHEMISTRY AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL PLANT ZIZIPHUS RUGOSA LAM.
Indian Drugs 2023.0
Ziziphus jujuba Mill., a plant used as medicinal food: a review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology, quality control and future research
Phytochemistry Reviews 2021.0
Phytochemical Profiling, In Vitro and In Silico Anti-Microbial and Anti-Cancer Activity Evaluations and Staph GyraseB and h-TOP-IIβ Receptor-Docking Studies of Major Constituents of Zygophyllum coccineum L. Aqueous-Ethanolic Extract and Its Subsequent Fractions: An Approach to Validate Traditional Phytomedicinal Knowledge
Molecules 2021.0
Mucronine J, a 14-Membered Cyclopeptide Alkaloid from Zizyphus mucronata
Journal of Natural Products 1996.0