Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacological Activities and Toxicological Effects of <i>Justicia schimperiana</i> (Hochst. ex Nees) T. Anderson <i>:</i> Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective This study systematically documented fragmented data on the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and toxicological effects of J. schimperiana (Hochst. ex Nees) T. Anderson in Ethiopia. Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google, Google Scholar, and university websites in Ethiopia were searched to retrieve published and unpublished original articles reporting the ethnomedicinal use, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and toxicity of J. schimperiana. A total of 273, 25, 13, and 11 studies were included for the ethnomedicinal use, pharmacological activities, phytochemistry, and toxicity reviews, respectively. Result The plant was mentioned as a treatment of choice for 47 human ailments. The commonest human ailments, in order of citation, were liver problems, rabies, malaria, sexually transmitted disease, evil eye, anthrax, intestinal parasites, skin problems, wounds, and stomachache. Phytochemical investigations on the different parts of the plant have showed the presence of 23 sary metabolites. The most frequently detected chemicals in the crude extracts and solvent fractions of the plant were Terpenoids, Phenols, Tannins, Steroids, Flavonoids, Saponins, and Alkaloids. The crude extracts and solvent fractions of the plant demonstrated a wide range of pharmacological properties including antimicrobial, bronchodilator, anti-diabetic, antidiarrheal, tracheal relaxant, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities. The acute oral toxicity studies revealed generally the plant is safe to use with median lethal oral dose value of greater than 2000 mg/kg dried plant extract in majority of the studies. Conclusion J. schimperiana is widely used for the treatment of various human ailments in all regions of Ethiopia. Despite its widespread traditional use, the phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of J. schimperiana are not yet fully investigated.