Research papers
2005 · AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY · 2,463 citations
Alkaloids, tannins, saponins, steroid, terpenoid, flavonoids, phlobatannin and cardic glycoside distribution in ten medicinal plants belonging to different families were assessed and compared. The medicinal plants investigated were Cleome nutidosperma, Emilia coccinea, Euphorbia heterophylla, Physalis angulata, Richardia bransitensis, Scopania dulcis, Sida acuta, Spigelia anthelmia, Stachytarpheta cayennensis and Tridax procumbens. All the plants were found to contain alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids except for the absence of tannins in S. acuta and flavonoids in S. cayennsis respectively. The significance of the plants in traditional medicine and the importance of the distribution of these chemical constituents were discussed with respect to the role of these plants in ethnomedicine in Nigeria. Key words: Medicinal plants, ethnomedicine, phytochemical constituents.
1981 · Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa · 134 citations
Several Australian members of the genus Acacia L. have attained weed status in the Cape Province, South Africa. It is shown that in the Cape the plants are pollinated but lack effective seed predators. Mature plants drop seeds numbering usually in the range 1 100 to 7 000 m−2yr−1. They have a seed-bank in the soil about two to five times this magnitude, about 95 per cent of which is dormant. It appears that the decline of viability with age may be relatively very slow. These findings are shown to be critical in planning control-methods. (Miss S. J. Milton and Dr A. V. Hall, Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town.)
2007 · Annals of Botany · 84 citations
BACKGROUND: Myrothamnus flabellifolia is unique as the only woody resurrection plant. It is an important plant in southern Africa because of its widespread occurrence and usage in African medicine and traditional culture. Many reports have investigated facets of its biology and the mechanisms associated with its desiccation tolerance. SCOPE: The general biology of the woody resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia is reviewed. The review focuses on the geography and ecology, systematic placement, evolution, morphology and reproductive ecology of M. flabellifolia as well as the wood anatomy and re-filling mechanism. In addition, the desiccation tolerance, ethnobotanical importance and medicinal properties of the plant are reviewed. Also, future research avenues are suggested, in particular the necessity to research the biogeography and systematics of the species and the role of the polyphenols present, as well as the molecular basis of the plant's desiccation tolerance.
2002 · Forests Trees and Livelihoods · 25 citations
In the last two decades, growing interest in the production and utilisation of safou (Dacryodes edulis), an indigenous fruit tree species of West and Central Africa, has stimulated work on the selection of genetic resources with desired traits, timing of fruit collection and the tree's reproductive biology. In this context, 58 germplasm accessions were collected in Nigeria during 1998. The periodicity of fruiting was found to vary geographically and a preliminary characterisation showed a wide range of variation in fruit traits. About 4% of fruits were seedless. The importance of this knowledge is discussed with regard to genetic selection and improvement, and the need to extend germplasm collection activities to wild relatives of the species. In the humid forest zone, the main insect pollinator is Meliponula erythra. Allogamy has been found to be the main reproduction system of D. edulis, while hermaphrodite flowers are self-compatible.