Phytochemical studies on extracts of selected South African indigenous medicinal plants

Abstract

Nature has been identified as a rich source of potentially useful chemicals. Throughout the years, phytochemical studies have led to the unearthing of a huge number of natural products, their chemical diversity is unique and many of them possess various biological activities. South Africa is blessed with a rich plant biodiversity of +24,000 indigenous plants, representing about 10% of all higher plants on earth and with more than 50 % of such plant species found nowhere else in the world but in South Africa. However, only a few of the South African medicinal plants have been exploited to their full potential. Screening of more medicinal plants for biological activities and phytochemicals is important for finding potential new compounds for therapeutic uses.