Acanthus montanus (Nees) T. Anderson: Review
MacDonald Idu, Paul Ojoba, Benjamin Gabriel
Abstract
The plant Acanthus montanus is from the Acanthaceae family and is an effective medicinal plant. It's a tiny shrub with sparse branches and a soft stem found over Africa, the Balkans, Romania, Greece, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Because of the serrated margins on the leaves, it is commonly called beer's breech or mountain thistle. Ethnomedicinally, the leaves of Acanthus montanus have been found useful in the treatment of wounds, furuncles, gonorrhea, syphilis, cardiac dysfunction, hepatitis, suppuration hastening, also used as vermifuge and emmenagogue. The plant also possesses numerous phytochemicals like alkaloids and carbohydrates with traces of saponins, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, and terpenoids. Further studies on the leaf and root extract reveal it contains numerous biochemical compounds hence the validity of the biological/pharmacological activities it elicits. Some of these activities
include analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunological, anti-fertility, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, hepato-curative activities, etc.
Keywords: Acanthus montanus, phytochemicals, ethnomedicinal, biological activities
MacDonald Idu, Paul Ojoba, Benjamin Gabriel
Abstract
The plant Acanthus montanus is from the Acanthaceae family and is an effective medicinal plant. It's a tiny shrub with sparse branches and a soft stem found over Africa, the Balkans, Romania, Greece, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Because of the serrated margins on the leaves, it is commonly called beer's breech or mountain thistle. Ethnomedicinally, the leaves of Acanthus montanus have been found useful in the treatment of wounds, furuncles, gonorrhea, syphilis, cardiac dysfunction, hepatitis, suppuration hastening, also used as vermifuge and emmenagogue. The plant also possesses numerous phytochemicals like alkaloids and carbohydrates with traces of saponins, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, and terpenoids. Further studies on the leaf and root extract reveal it contains numerous biochemical compounds hence the validity of the biological/pharmacological activities it elicits. Some of these activities
include analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunological, anti-fertility, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, hepato-curative activities, etc.
Keywords: Acanthus montanus, phytochemicals, ethnomedicinal, biological activities
