Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 4, Issue 10, 2000

African plants have long been the source of important products with nutritional and therapeutical value. Coffee originates from Ethiopia, Strophanthus species are strong arrow poisons and supply cardenolides for use against cardiac insufficiency, the Catharanthus roseus alkaloids are well-known antileukaemic agents - just to mention a few examples. Research is continuing on the vegetable material from this continent Read More

The Meliaceae family is well represented in Southern and Eastern Africa and Madagascar. Plants range in size from magnificent forest trees to small shrubs. Certain species are important as timber trees and they have wide-ranging uses in ethnomedicine in the region, prompting extensive investigation. Twenty-two of the fifty-one genera of the Meliaceae occur in the geographic area under review, and, of these, the chemist Read More

The genus Aloe (Asphodelaceae), with nearly 420 species confined mainly to Africa, has over the years proved to be one of the most important sources of biologically active compounds. Over 130 compounds belonging to different classes including anthrones, chromones, pyrones, coumarins, alkaloids, glycoproteins, naphthalenes and flavonoids have so far been reported from the genus. Although many of the reports on Aloe Read More

The genus Dorstenia contains many plants that are used as anti-snakebite, anti-infection and anti-rheumatic remedies in the medicinal plant therapy of many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The genus is now recognized as a rich source of prenyl and geranyl-substituted coumarins, chalcones, flavones and flavanones. The first examples of naturally occurring styrenes (2 and 3) were reported from D. barn Read More