Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, against parasites and herbivorous mammals.
Mimosa tenuiflora, syn. Mimosa hostilis, also known as jurema preta, calumbi (Brazil), tepezcohuite (México), carbonal, cabrera, jurema, black jurema, and binho de jurema, is a perennial tree or shrub native to the northeastern region of Brazil and found as far north as southern Mexico, and the following countries: El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela. It is most often found in lower altitudes, but it can be found as high as 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent styles and stamens. One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is both found as a wildflower in the southern United States and in cultivation for its fruit and striking bluish purple blooms.
Cissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics.
Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. Kaempferol is a yellow crystalline solid with a melting point of 276–278 °C (529–532 °F). It is slightly soluble in water and highly soluble in hot ethanol, ethers, and DMSO. Kaempferol is named for 17th-century German naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer.
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is known as the Namaqua skeletonfig, kanna, channa, kougoed —which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'something to chew'.
Abutilon indicum is a small shrub in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. This plant is a valuable medicinal and ornamental plant, its roots and leaves being used for curing fevers. It has been widely introduced outside of its native range, and is considered invasive on certain tropical islands.
Mesembrine is an alkaloid primarily derived from the plant Sceletium tortuosum, commonly known as kanna. This compound is noted for its psychoactive properties, particularly as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which contributes to its potential use in treating mood disorders and anxiety. Mesembrine has garnered interest in both traditional medicine and modern pharmacology, where it is explored for its effects on enhancing mood and cognitive function. The plant itself has a long history of use by indigenous peoples in southern Africa, who utilized it for its mood-enhancing and stress-relieving effects, often consuming it in various forms such as teas or chews.
Kaempferia galanga, commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and India, but is also widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia.
Rotheca myricoides or Butterfly Clerodendrum,Butterfly Bush, and is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to tropical eastern Africa and widely cultivated elsewhere. In cultivation, it is frequently known by one of its synonyms, such as Clerodendrum myricoides.
Ficus deltoidea, commonly known as mistletoe fig is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Southeast Asia, and widely naturalized in other parts of the world.
Cissus verticillata, the princess vine or seasonvine, is an evergreen perennial vine in the grapevine family Vitaceae.
Parastrephia is a genus of South American plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae.
Mitragyna rubrostipulata is a tree indigenous to East Africa. It is native from Ethiopia through east-central tropical Africa to Mozambique. It grows in wet forests up to 2,000 m above sea level and is abundant in swamp forests along Lake Victoria.
Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim, largely without evidence, to be able to cure a variety of diverse conditions including cancer, psychiatric disorders, high blood pressure, cholera, most venereal diseases, epilepsy, asthma, eczema, fever, anxiety, depression, benign prostatic hyperplasia, urinary tract infections, gout, and healing of wounds and burns and Ebola.
Quercus infectoria or the Aleppo oak is a species of oak well known for producing galls that have been traditionally used for centuries in Asia medicinally while also used in softening leather and in making black dye and ink.
Anemonin is a tri-spirocyclic dibutenolide natural product found in members of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) such as Ranunculus bulbosus, R. ficaria, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, and Clematis hirsutissima. Originally isolated in 1792 by M. Heyer, It is the dimerization product of the toxin protoanemonin. One of the likely active agents in plants used in Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory and Native American medicine as a horse stimulant, its unique biological properties give it pharmaceutical potential as an anti-inflammatory and cosmetic agent.
Bakuchiol is a meroterpenoid in the class terpenophenol.
Hypericum mysorense is a species of flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family. It is primarily found at high elevations in the Western Ghats of India and the mountains of Sri Lanka, but was also reported from Socotra by Isaac Bayley Balfour in the 19th century. It was studied to improve understanding of endosperm formation in Hypericum, and the identification of a number of xanthone derivatives from this species contributed to the chemotaxonomic description of subfamily Hypericoideae.
