A review of the ethnomedicinal, pharmacology, cytotoxicity and phytochemistry of the genus Euphorbia in southern Africa

Euphorbia L is the largest genus in the plant family Euphorbiaceae with about 2000 species ranging from herbs to trees. Plants of this genus are used around the world to treat different kinds of ailments such as skin diseases, migraine, gonorrhoea and intestinal parasites. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive summary on the medicinal uses, pharmacology, cytotoxicity, and phytochemistry of the Euphorbia species in southern Africa. The literature search was performed through scientific databases such as Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, JSTOR, and Scopus. Textbooks and dissertations were also consulted. A total of 35 Euphorbia species that are used in traditional medicine in southern Africa were identified. Although 35 species are used as traditional medicines, pharmacological, cytotoxicity and phytochemical studies have been carried out only on 16, 19 and 9 species, respectively. The investigated species have exhibited a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antibacterial antifungal, antiviral, antiplasmodial, antioxidant, anticancer, larvicidal and molluscicidal. They also exhibited cytotoxicity activities against various cell lines, including A549, CACO2, CS12, HELA, HrpG2 and MCF-7. Phytochemical studies have resulted in the isolation and identification of several compounds including 7-galloyl catechin, 3 beta-acetyloxy-olean-13, beta-amyrin, caffeic acid, euphol, euphorbin, luteolin and quercetin. Although the medicinal uses of Euphorbia species in southern Africa have been well documented, the pharmacological and phytochemical studies are limited. Therefore, further studies to validate the use of Euphorbia species as traditional medicines and to isolate and identify active compounds are warranted. (C) 2021 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.