Research progress in phytochemistry and biology of Aframomum species

The African genus Aframomum (Zingiberaceae) is a group of diverse tropical plants frequently collected yet largely neglected taxonomically. The current and unprecedented loss of species due to man-made habitat destruction and climate change adds a desperate urgency not only to understand the phylogenetics, chemotaxonomy and biology, but also to preserve the quickly disappearing species.

The present systematic review reports on the research progress in phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Aframomum species.

Scientific databases such as MedSci, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Knowledge were used to retrieve publications (from the year 1990 to 2014) related to Aframomum plants, isolated compounds and their bioactivity, phytochemistry and toxicology. The keywords combinations for the search were: Aframomum; chemotaxonomy, phylogenetics, pharmacology and bioactive metabolites and toxicology. A total of 71 research articles that report on the biological activity of extracts and chemical constituents were recovered and presented in this review.

Most published data related to the potential of Aframomum melegueta, a medicinal plant from West and Central Africa. The potential of phenols and terpenoids isolated from Aframomum plants were generally much better documented than that of arylalkanoids.

Aframomum genus represents an enormous resource for novel compounds with a range of medicinal properties. However, these plants are under-researched and their conservation is poor. To unravel their full potential, efforts should be strengthened throughout the continent to establish the taxonomy, preserve the genus and explore novel medicinal properties.