Evaluation of Medicinal, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Portulacaria afra Jacq. (Family: Didiereaceae).

Abstract

<i>Portulacaria afra</i> Jacq. is an evergreen succulent shrub or small tree widely used in traditional medicine. The fleshy leaves of <i>P. afra</i> are eaten raw and the plant species is also a valuable stock feed and ornamental plant. The current study was aimed at documenting medicinal and traditional uses of <i>P. afra</i> and its phytochemical and pharmacological properties. Research articles on medicinal uses and ethnopharmacological properties of <i>P. afra</i> were searched from online databases such as SpringerLink^®, PubMed^®, Google Scholar, Web of Science, ScienceDirect^®, Scopus^® and SciELO and also pre-electronic literature obtained from the university library. <i>Portulacaria afra</i> is used as traditional medicine for sores, wounds, skin infections, diabetes, diarrhea, fever, hypertension, kidney ailments, respiratory infections, mouth ulcers, earaches and pain. Chemical compounds identified from <i>P. afra</i> include aliphatic ketones, alkanes, alkenes, aromatic compounds, benzoic acid derivatives, esters, fatty acids, flavonoids, phenanthrenes, phenols, steroids and triterpenoids. <i>Portulacaria afra</i> crude extracts demonstrated analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, glucose utilization, anti-quorum sensing, antioxidant, antiplasmodial, tyrosinase inhibition and cytotoxicity activities. This review highlights the need for detailed ethnopharmacological studies of <i>P. afra</i> focusing on its phytochemical, biological and toxicological properties, <i>in vivo</i> and clinical studies.