Affiliation:
1. The Women University Multan, Pakistan
2. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan
3. Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
Abstract
Aframomum melegueta (grains of paradise) is a herbaceous plant of West Africa, locally used as a spice and to treat common ailments like diarrhea, painful arthritis, snake bite, and scorpion sting. Various parts of the plant like stem, leaves, and roots have various phytochemicals like flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, phenolic compounds, alkaloids cardiac glycosides, and saponins that give alligator pepper a great medicinal value. These phytochemicals exert anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidants, and hepatoprotective effects. However, more comprehensive studies need to be performed to reveal the medicinal purposes of alligator pepper. This chapter encapsulates findings from previous studies on the phytochemicals, ethnobotanical, pharmacological activities, and biogenic synthesis of chemicals of Aframomum melegueta.