Dissertation
A pharmacognostic study of Vernonia guineensis Benth. (Asteraceae): bioactivity, safety, and phytochemical analysis
Promotor: Prof.dr. R. Verpoorte, , Co-Promotor: Young Hae Choi
- Author
- J.N. Toyang
- Date
- 16 September 2014
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
The world continues to be plagued by numerous diseases and health complications. Unfortunately, current drug discovery efforts are lagging behind compared to the pace of emergence of new diseases or the development of resistance to current therapies. Medicinal plants especially for people in developing countries are sometimes the only remedies available for the prevention and treatment of diseases. Modern science has also come to recognize the importance of medicinal plants in drug discovery and development given the contributions that this sector has made to drug discovery. As such, several pharmacognostic/natural products chemistry techniques have been developed to aid research on the medicinal properties of plants. The application of these techniques is very useful in two main areas in that they facilitate the validation of the medicinal properties of folk remedies and in the discovery of new remedies from natural products. This thesis focused on the evaluation of the medicinal properties of Vernonia guineensis Benth. (Asteraceae), which is commonly called Ginseng in Cameroon. The species was found to possess antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, antiproliferative/anticancer and anthelmintic effects. Results obtained and reported in this thesis will form a useful foundation for further research into the medicinal potential of this plant.