Vernonia amygdalina Delile (VA), family Asteraceae or Compositae is plants that is consumed locally as food and serve important ethnomedicinal uses. It grows throughout tropical Africa to a height of about 1 – 5 metres and it is indigenous to many West African Countries. Many parts of the plants are useful, they are used locally for the treatment of fever, Stomach disorder, jaundice, worm infestation, constipation, malaria, hiccups, kidney problems, amoebic dysentery, schistosomiasis, cough, wounds, diabetes, laxative, veneral diseases and other bacterial and protozoal infection. This review examines, discusses and summarizes the current evidence of ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities as well as toxicity of this species with a view to identifying its therapeutic relations and possible contradictions, inconsistencies and gaps that may have arisen in the research literature. This review is based on literature study on journals and books of scientific origin from library, both manual and electronic sources such as PubMed, Science Direct, Elsevier, ACS, google Scholar etc using various combinations of search words. V. amagdalina is a tropical plant with a lot of interesting biological and medicinal uses. The plants are relatively not toxic, safe for consumption and possess a great potential as pharmaceutical leads for the treatment of diseases and beyond. This review will stimulate further research in the pharmacology and phytochemistry of V. amagdalina.

Nigeria flares much natural gas associated with oil exploration like many other countries of the world. A major problem of gas flaring is the release of large amounts of methane, which has the potential to affect medicinal plants. The effects of gas flaring on the anatomy and antimicrobial activities of Annona muricata, used by traditional medical practitioners in the Niger Delta to treat infections was investigated. The leaves of Annona muricata Linn (Annonaceae) were collected from Ologbo, near Benin City (Edo State), Ebedei, near Abraka (Delta State) and Elele, near Port- Harcourt (Rivers State), three towns in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where gas flaring is still taking place. Evaluation of the anatomical sections of the leaves was carried out to determine micromorphological profile. Chemical and chromatographic tests were employed in phytochemical investigations. Inhibitory activity of aqueous ethanol extracts against clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis and Enterococcus faecalis were compared with that of ciprofloxacin. Microscopic studies irrespective of place of collection showed that the leaves have anisocytic stomata arrangement. The epidermal cells were beaded and had uniseriate covering trichomes on both surfaces. The transverse section showed dorsiventral arrangement. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, cardiac and cyanogenetic glycosides. The aqueous ethanol extracts inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus to varying degrees. A. muricata has been reported to possess broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. However, our findings showed a reduction of antimicrobial activity by the species growing in some parts of the Niger Delta where gas flaring is still ongoing. Concerted efforts should be made by the Nigerian Government to stop gas flaring in the region to preserve the pharmacological and biological activities of the medicinal plants. Keywords : Annona muricata, antimicrobial, anatomical, oil exploration, gas flaring