Review of Medicinal Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Properties of Protorhus Longifolia

Alfred Maroyi /J. Pharm. Sci. & Res. Vol. 11(8), 2019, 3072-3079 Review of medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of Protorhus longifolia Alfred Maroyi Medicinal Plants and Economic Development (MPED) Research Centre, Department of Botany, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa Abstract Protorhus longifolia is a medium to large tree widely used as herbal medicine in southern Africa. This study was aimed at providing a critical review of the biological activities, phytochemistry and medicinal uses of P. longifolia. Documented information on the botany, biological activities, medicinal uses and phytochemistry of P. longifolia was collected from several online sources which included BMC, Scopus, SciFinder, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Elsevier, Pubmed and Web of Science. Additional information on the botany, biological activities, phytochemistry and medicinal uses of P. longifolia was gathered from pre-electronic sources such as book chapters, books, journal articles and scientific publications sourced from the University library. This study showed that the bark, fruits, gum, latex and leaves of P. longifolia are used are used as depilatories and herbal medicine for hemiphlegic paralysis, internal bleeding, magical purposes, skin problems, gastro- intestinal problems and ethnoveterinary medicine. Phytochemical compounds identified from the seeds and stem bark of P. longifolia include alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, sterols, tannins, terpenoids and triterpenes. Ethnopharmacological research revealed that P. longifolia extracts and compounds have acetylcholinesterase inhibitory, antibacterial, anti-Listeria, antimycobacterial, antifungal, anticoagulant, anti-hypertensive, antihyperlipidemic, antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-platelet, cardioprotective and cytotoxicity activities. Future studies should focus on conducting detailed phytochemical, pharmacological, toxicological and clinical evaluations of P. longifolia crude extracts as well as compounds isolated from the species. Keywords: Anacardiaceae, ethnopharmacology, herbal medicine, indigenous pharmacopeia, Protorhus longifolia INTRODUCTION Barkley, another genus of the family and possibly meant Protorhus longifolia (Bernh.) Engl. is a medium to large in the sense of “approaching the Searsia genus” in evergreen tree belonging to the Anacardiaceae, commonly morphological characteristics. The specific name known as the cashew or sumac family. The family “longifolia” is derived from Latin words meaning “long Anacardiaceae includes economically important fruit tree leaves”.12 Synonym associated with P. longifolia include species such as cashews (Anacardium occidentale L.), Anaphrenium longofolium Bernh., Heeria longifolia staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina L.), mangos (Mangifera Bernh. ex C. Krauss and Rhus longifolia (Bernh.) Sond.2,13 indica L.), pistachios (Pistacia vera L.), pink peppercorns Protorhus longifolia is commonly known as “purple (Schinus terebinthifolia L.) and marula (Sclerocarya currant”, “red beech” and “red Cape beech” in English. birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst.). The genus Protorhus Engl. Protorhus longifolia is a medium to large evergreen tree comprises about 20 species which are mainly trees and growing up to 18 metres in height with a trunk diameter of shrubs primarily distributed in Madagascar with P. one metre.12 The bark is dark brown in colour, smooth to longifolia recorded in South Africa and Swaziland.1-3 Most rough and characterized by milky latex. The leaves are of these Protorhus species are characterized by wood that simple, opposite to sub-opposite or spirally arranged, is durable, resistant to termites and fungal attack, and linear-oblong to narrowly elliptic in shape, hairless, upper therefore, used as a general purpose timber for furniture, surface dark green and glossy while the under surface is construction, joinery, flooring, panelling, moulding and paler green with conspicuous parallel lateral veins. railway sleepers.3 The bark, fruits and leaves of the species Flowers are greenish white to yellow in colour, occurring are eaten by birds, game and livestock.1 In the Eastern in dense, many-flowered, short, terminal heads or panicles. Cape province in South Africa, the leaves of P. longifolia The fruit is an asymmetrically oblong, fleshy one-seeded are used as wild spinach and/or pot-herb or wild fruit or as drupe and becoming purple-mauve when ripe. Protorhus famine food.4,5 The bark and leaves of the species are used longifolia has been recorded in South Africa and as herbal medicines in South Africa and Swaziland, Swaziland in coastal and montane forests, forest margins, playing an important role in the primary health care of open woodland and along river banks at an altitude local communities. Protorhus longifolia is heavily traded ranging from 12 metres to 1980 metres above sea level.2,13 in Gauteng,6,7 KwaZulu-Natal7 and the Eastern Cape8-11 provinces in South Africa and also unsustainably Medicinal uses of Protorhus longifolia harvested in the Eastern Cape province.8 It is against this The bark, fruits, gum, latex and leaves of P. longifolia are background that this study was undertaken aimed at used as depilatories and herbal medicines for hemiphlegic appraising the medicinal uses, phytochemistry and paralysis, internal bleeding, magical purposes, skin biological activities of P. longifolia. problems, gastro-intestinal problems and ethnoveterinary medicine (Table 1, Figure 1). The leaves of P. longifolia Taxonomy and description of Protorhus longifolia are mixed with those of Clerodendrum glabrum E. Mey. The generic name Protorhus is based on the Greek words and Psidium guajava L. as herbal medicine for diarrhoea “protos” meaning “first” and “rhus”, now Searsia F.A. and dysentery.14,15 The bark of P. longifolia is mixed with 3072 Alfred Maroyi /J. Pharm. Sci. & Res. Vol. 11(8), 2019, 3072-3079 bark of Hippobromus pauciflorus Radlk. as The following biological activities have been reported ethnoveterinary medicine for heartwater and diarrhoea in from the bark, leaf, seed and triterpene compounds cows.15-19 isolated from P. longifolia: acetylcholinesterase inhibitory,48 antibacterial,36,37,42,49-52 anti-Listeria,40 Phytochemical composition of Protorhus longifolia antimycobacterial,53,54 antifungal,49-52 anticoagulant,41 anti- Mosa et al.35 identified saponins, tannins, flavonoids, hypertensive,31 antihyperlipidemic and alkaloids, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides from the stem antihyperglycemic,38,43,44,46,47,55 anti-inflammatory,37,41 bark of P. longifolia while Mhlongo et al.36 identified antioxidant,35-37,48,49,56, anti-platelet,35,37,49,56 flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, phenols and sterols from cardioprotective45 and cytotoxicity35,37,49,53,54,56 activities. the seed extracts of the species. Triterpenes which included 3-oxo-5α-lanosta-8,24-dien-21-oic acid,37 3β- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities hydroxylanosta-9,24-dien-24-oic acid,37 3β- Amoo et al.48 evaluated acetylcholinesterase inhibitory hydroxylanosta-9,24-dien-21-oic acid,38-42 methyl-3β- properties of aqueous leaf extract of P. longifolia using hydroxylanosta-9,24-dienoate,39 methyl-3β- colorimetric assay with galanthamine at 20 µM as a hydroxylanosta-9,24-dien-21-oate38,40,42-47 have been positive control. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition (%) at 1.0 identified from the stem bark of the species (Table 2). mg/ml was 40.1% to 51.8%. These results suggest that P. Some of the pharmacological activities associated with the longifolia extracts deserve further investigation as they species could be attributed to the documented may provide secondary metabolites which can act as phytochemical compounds. natural acetylcholinesterase inhibitors required for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Biological activities of Protorhus longifolia Table 1: Medicinal uses of Protorhus longifolia Medicinal use Plant parts Country References Blood purifier Bark South Africa Mhlongo and Van Wyk20; Respiratory problems (chest pains and South Africa and Bark Long21; Madikizela et al.22 tuberculosis) Swaziland Palmer and Pitman12; Long21; Watt South Africa and Depilatories Bark, gum and latex and Breyer-Brandwijk23; Swaziland Hutchings et al.24 Emetic Bark South Africa Cocks and Dold25; Zukulu et al.26 Gastro-intestinal problems Mhlongo and Van Wyk20; Zukulu (biliousness, diarrhoea and inability to Bark South Africa et al.26; Appidi et al.27 defecate) Leaves mixed with those of Diarrhoea and dysentery Clerodendrum glabrum E. South Africa Bisi-Johnson et al.14; Stark et al.15 Mey. and Psidium guajava L. Heartburn Bark South Africa Hutchings et al.24; Pujol28 Palmer and Pitman12; Hutchings et Hemiphlegic paralysis Bark South Africa al.24; Gerstner29; Netshiluvhi30 Balogun and Ashafa19; Duncan et High blood pressure Bark and leaves South Africa al.31 Balogun and Ashafa19; Hutchings Internal bleeding Bark South Africa et al.24; Pujol28 Magical purposes (good luck and ward Palmer and Pitman12; Hutchings et Bark South Africa off evil spirits) al.24; Zukulu et al.26; Netshiluvhi30 Perfume Fruits South Africa Palmer and Pitman12 Skin problems (acne, bruise, cuts, Mhlongo and Van Wyk20; Otang et dermatophytoses, eczema, ringworm, Bark and leaves South Africa al.32; Mwangi et al.33; Sagbo and sunlight protection, warts and wounds) Mbeng34 Teething problems in babies Bark South Africa Zukulu et al.26 Urinary system problem (inability to Bark South Africa Mhlongo and Van Wyk20 urinate) Ethnoveterinary

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