Ethnopharmacological Importance of Xylopia aethiopica (DUNAL) A. RICH (Annonaceae) - A Review

Ethnopharmacological Relevance : Xylopia aethiopica or Ethiopian pepper is a plant that thrives in most of the evergreen rain forests of tropical and subtropical Africa, and it is currently grown most prominently in Ghana as a crop. Almost all parts of Xylopia aethiopica possess great medicinal values in traditional medicine. In most parts of Africa, it is used in the treatment of cough, rheumatism, dysentery, malaria, uterine fibroid, boils, and wounds among others. This review summarizes published data on phytochemistry, toxicological properties, Ethnopharmacological and other uses of Xylopia aethiopica , and aims at providing an up-to-date detail that should constitute baseline information for future research on the plant. Materials and Methods: Google Scholar, Scifinder® and PubMed were the electronic databases used to search for and filter published research on Xylopia aethiopica . Results: The various parts of Xylopia aethiopica possess a wide diversity of phytochemicals. A detailed description of only a few of these phytochemicals i.e. essential oils, alkaloids and Review Article