Review on ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents and pharmacological evidence on leaf extract of Persea americana and Vernonia amygdalina of the African continent - A Review

People on the African continent frequently consume Persea americana and Vernonia amygdalina for food and medicinal purposes. The review is an effort to compile ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and pharmacological knowledge is the above two plants from the year 2000 till now. A search was carried out using a combination of several keywords : Persea americana, Vermonia amygdalina, traditional medicine, ethnomedicine, avocado, bitter leaf and integrated approaches. Published papers in English language were retrieved from the online bibliographical databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Cochrane library electronic databases. Findings from this review revealed that leaf extract of P. americana and V. amygdalina have been used in many local African communities for management of various diseases. Ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacological properties of leaf extracts of P. americana and V. amygdalina may justify polyherbal formulation involving the two plants in the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and other diseases.