Pharmacological properties and Medicinal applications of Halleria lucida L. (Family Stilbaceae)

Abstract

Halleria lucida is a shrub or small tree widely used as traditional medicine in southern Africa. This study critically reviewed the medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of H. lucida. Literature on medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of H. lucida was collected from multiple internet sources such as Elsevier, Google Scholar, SciFinder, Web of Science, Pubmed, BMC, Science Direct and Scopus. Complementary information was collected from pre-electronic sources such as books, book chapters, theses, scientific reports and journal articles obtained from the University library. This study revealed that H. lucida is used as an ornamental plant, protective charm, and traditional medicine for blood pressure, earache, evil eye, scabies and skin complaints. Ethnopharmacological research identified cyclohexadienone, cyclohexanone, cyclohexanols, flavonols, flavonoids, glycosides, polyphenols and proanthocyanidins from the leaves and stems of H. lucida. The leaf, root and stem extracts of H. lucida and the compounds luteolin-5-O-β- D-glucoside and verbascoside isolated from the species exhibited antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, phytotoxic and mutagenicity activities. Since H. lucida extracts are widely used as traditional medicines, there is need for extensive phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological evaluations of the extracts and compounds isolated from the species.