Composition of Vernoniaamygdalina and its Potential Health Benefits

Vernoniaamygdalina is a perennial shrub. It is a vegetable, commonly used in foods and traditional medicine in tropical Africa. Traditional users report that this plant possesses observable health benefits. It contains many nutrients and phytochemicals such as iodine, alkaloids, anthraquinones, edotides, sesquiterpene lactones and steroid glycosides. These bioactive compounds are associated with the plant's health benefits. This review is a comprehensive update on the composition of V. amygdalina, linked to its food and medicinal uses. Traditional medicinal uses not yet supported by scientific evidence have been indicated. Clinical studies to substantiate the health-promoting effects of this plant product are lacking. More animal models experiments are required to prove the potency of this plant product. Grey areas where research is required to promote effective use of this plant product are indicated. Metadata for the health benefits of this plant product is based on inferences from compositional analysis and animal bioassays. There is a need to establish these claims in humans. Sources of information for this review were obtained from online search engines. The searches were restricted to information available as primary or secondary sources and effort was made to keep to only recent literature. Very important literature before that was not recent was also included. There is only very little information on the food uses of V. amygdalina which has been related to potential health benefits. There are a lot of claims on this plant-based on ethnomedicine and traditional uses. Vernoniaamydgalina is rich in nutrients and phytochemicals and this invariable account for its positive influence on health. Compounds associated with its anticancer effects, antioxidant properties, antimalarial properties, anti-inflammatory properties, antimicrobial properties and hypolipidaemic effects have been identified but most mechanisms of action have not been elucidated in humans.