Cryptolepis nigrescens (Wennberg) L. Joubert. and Bruyns., Prosopsis africana (Guill. and Perr.) Taub. and Pterygota macrocarpa K. Schum. traditionally used to manage tumors in Ghana: A review of preclinical evidence.

Cancer stands as a leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO), resulting in approximately 10 million fatalities in the year 2020. Natural plant products are still a widely used and accepted form of treatment for most ailments and diseases in Ghana. This review studies Cryptolepis nigrescens (Wennberg) L. Joubert. and Bruyns., Prosopsis africana (Guill. and Perr.) Taub. and Pterygota macrocarpa K. Schum. as medicinal plants that are traditionally used to treat tumor growth, amongst other diseases, in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This paper aims to reveal a comprehensive review on the botanical description, ecological distribution, ethnomedical uses, phytochemical composition and ethnopharmacological relevance of C. nigrescens, P. africana and P. macrocarpa. This current review covers works published between 1962 and 2023 from various countries. Published books, thesis, scientific and medical articles on C. nigrescens, P. africana and P. macrocarpa were collected from the following databases; 'Elsevier's Scopus', 'Science Direct', 'Medline', 'PubMed', 'Research Gate' 'Google scholar', and 'Springer link' using the keywords. Phytochemical screening conducted on C. nigrescens, P. africana and P. macrocarpa revealed the presence of numerous bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, polyphenols, saponins, and tannins. Plant extracts and compounds isolated from the medicinal plants exhibited a wide range of ethnopharmacological activities including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, cytotoxic, antimalarial, antipyretic, hematinic, hepato-protective, aphrodisiac and antihypertensive properties. This current review on Cryptolepis nigrescens (Wennberg) L. Joubert. and Bruyns., Prosopsis africana (Guill. and Perr.) Taub. and Pterygota macrocarpa K. Schum. provides a credible summary of the ethnopharmacological research done on these plants till date. This review delivers a profile of C. nigrescens, P. africana and P. macrocarpa and provides the foundation for future work. Additionally, this information provides a better understanding of the plant to improve its traditional and commercial use.

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Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.