Abstract
Dicoma capensis is widely used as traditional medicine in southern Africa. The
potential of D. capensis as herbal medicine, its botany, phytochemistry and biological
activities are reviewed. The literature relevant to the botany, phytochemistry and
biological activities of D. capensis was obtained from the main online scientific sites
including ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Medline and SCOPUS.
Searches were also undertaken in the University of Fort Hare library, dissertation and
thesis search engines like ProQuest, Open-thesis, OATD, and EthOs. Dicoma capensis
is used as herbal medicine against colds, fever, influenza, cancer, stomach problems,
high blood pressure, back pain and diarrhoea in southern Africa. The chemical
composition of D. capensis is made up of melampolides, germacranolides,
eudesmanolides, steroids, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, alcohol precipitable solids
(APS), amino acids and phenolic acids. The biological activities demonstrated by the
species include antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and bitterness properties. The
traditional ethnomedicinal usage of D. capensis highlights the importance of detailed
information on botanical, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and toxicological
reports on the species.
Alfred Maroyi. (2018) Dicoma capensis less: a review of its botany, ethno medicine, phytochemistry and pharmacology, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume 6, Issue 2.
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