Phytochemical and biological studies of extracts from selected South African indigenous medicinal plants: Bulbine and helichrysum species

Abstract

Medicinal plants from the Asteraceae and Asphodelaceae families are among the most widely recognized in South African traditional medicine for managing diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is a universal epidemic, yet there are no permanent treatments for this disease. Three South African indigenous medicinal plants, namely Helichrysum petiolare (Asteraceae), H. splendidum (Asteraceae), and Bulbine frutescens (Asphodelaceae) which have reported ethnobotanical usage in the management of diabetes were investigated in this study. Despite the increasing scientific evidence using the extracts that supports the ethnobotanical claims of these medicinal plants, the active metabolites, or their mechanism of action is not considered.