Browsing by Author "Maroyi, Alfred"

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    Asparagus sekukuniensis (Oberm.) Fellingham & N.L.Mey.: A threatened medicinal plant species used by Vhavenda in the Soutpansberg Region, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Limpopo province, South Africa
    (Open Science Publishers LLP, 2019-06) Ramarumo, Luambo Jeffrey; Maroyi, Alfred; Tshisikhawe, Milingoni Peter
    Asparagus sekukuniensis is at risk of extinction in South Africa due to over-collection as herbal medicine. However,there is a scant of literature on the diseases cured by the species, parts used, dosage, and how it is administered.Therefore, this study was aimed at documenting ethnomedicinal uses of A. sekukuniensis, in the Soutpansberg Region,Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Limpopo province, South Africa. Data on ethnomedicinal uses of A. sekukuniensis weregathered with an aid of semi-structured dialogues, observations, and guided field walk by 125 participants betweenMay and December 2018. Among the participants, laypeople were 35.2% and subsistence farmers were 14.4%.Specialist herbal healers include child health-care healers (29.6%), wound healers (11.2%), and general healers(9.6%). The recorded uses of A. sekukuniensis include the enhancement of fontanelle closure in an infant (24.8%),convulsions in an infant (22.4%), vaccinating epilepsy in an infant (17.6%), unhealed or cancer-related wounds(15.2%), genital wounds (12.0%), and boils (8.0%). Asparagus sekukuniensis appeared to be an important herbalmedicine against infant ailments, wounds, infections, and infestations. These findings, therefore, call for an evaluationof the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of this species.
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    Evaluation of pharmacological properties, phytochemistry, and medicinal uses of Baccharoides guineensis
    (Open Science Publishers LLP, 2020-06) Maroyi, Alfred
    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.
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    Helichrysum caespititium (DC.) Harv.: Review of its medicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities
    (Open Science Publishers LLP, 2019-06) Maroyi, Alfred
    Helichrysum caespititium is a valuable and well-known medicinal plant in south and central Africa. The current studyexamined ethnomedicinal uses, chemical and biological properties of H. caespititium. Information on medicinal uses,phytochemistry, and biological activities of H. caespititium were assembled from several internet sources whichincluded Scopus, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Science Direct, Web of Science, Pubmed, SciFinder, and BMC. Additionalinformation was sourced from journal articles, scientific reports, theses, books, and book chapters gathered from theUniversity library. The current study showed that H. caespititium is used for treating several medical conditions,particularly respiratory infections, sexually transmitted infections, nausea, headache, wounds, ulceration, and usedas an aphrodisiac. The pharmacological research showed that H. caespititium extracts and compounds isolated fromthe species have antibacterial, antigonorrhea, antimycobacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activities.This research showed that H. caespititium is an integral part of indigenous pharmacopeia in southern Africa, but thereis lack of alignment between the ethnomedicinal uses and existing biological screening. Therefore, future researchshould focus on evaluation of the chemical and pharmacological properties of H. caespititium extracts and compoundsisolated from the species.