Cited by 647Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants StudiesMedicinal Plant ResearchAfrican Botany and Ecology Studies

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Traditional Medicines in Africa: An Appraisal of Ten Potent African Medicinal Plants

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Mahomoodally, M. Fawzi·2013·Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

DOI 10.1155/2013/617459PMC PMC3866779

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Abstract

The use of medicinal plants as a fundamental component of the African traditional healthcare system is perhaps the oldest and the most assorted of all therapeutic systems. In many parts of rural Africa, traditional healers prescribing medicinal plants are the most easily accessible and affordable health resource available to the local community and at times the only therapy that subsists. Nonetheless, there is still a paucity of updated comprehensive compilation of promising medicinal plants from the African continent. The major focus of the present review is to provide an updated overview of 10 promising medicinal plants from the African biodiversity which have short- as well as long-term potential to be developed as future phytopharmaceuticals to treat and/or manage panoply of infectious and chronic conditions. In this endeavour, key scientific databases have been probed to investigate trends in the rapidly increasing number of scientific publications on African traditional medicinal plants. Within the framework of enhancing the significance of traditional African medicinal plants, aspects such as traditional use, phytochemical profile, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies and also future challenges pertaining to the use of these plants have been explored.

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Authors: Mahomoodally, M. F.
Affiliations: University of Mauritius (MU)
Corresponding author: Mahomoodally, M. Fawzi
ORCID: Mahomoodally, M. Fawzi
Venue: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013
Volume: 2013
Pages: 1-14
ISSN: 1741-427X (ISSN-L)
1741-4288
DOI: 10.1155/2013/617459
PMC: PMC3866779
OpenAlex: W2157525511
Cited by: 647
References: 119
Citations by year: 2026: 34 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 71 · 2023: 76 · 2022: 89 · 2021: 92 · 2020: 84 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
FWCI: 1.43
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (unspecified)
Locations: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Medicinal Plant Research
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › African Botany and Ecology Studies
Keywords: African medicinal plants, traditional medicine, herbal medicine, traditional healers, phytochemical composition, traditional uses, in vitro and in vivo studies, infectious diseases, chronic disease, African biodiversity

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Traditional Medicines in Africa: An Appraisal of Ten Potent African Medicinal Plants

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