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Epiphytic medicinal plants as sources of novel therapeutic agents with enhanced pharmacological activities
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Immaculeta Umeyor *   1, Ogechukwu Chukwuemerie2 , Ezeonyi Ifejirika3 , Festus Okoye2 |
1- Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria , ic.umeyor@unizik.edu.ng
2- Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
3- Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam |
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Abstract: (407 Views) |
| Epiphytes are bioindicator groups of species that provide useful information on overall ecosystem health and productivity because of their arboreal lifestyle and sensitivity to environmental stress. In this review, epiphytes are presented as sources of novel therapeutic agents and their biological activities were discussed following information from databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, Scifinder Scholar, Prosea, Prota, Scopus, and Google scholar. The review discussed 10 epiphytes and their traditional medicinal uses, regions where they are used, parts of the plants used, and their preparations. The phytochemical factors of the plants with their traditional uses were presented. Interestingly, these plants have shown promising pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. Their cultivation for industrial and pharmaceutical purposes can lead to increased production of antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-celiac, and anti-cancer drug lead compounds, and thus warrant intensive investigations. |
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| Keywords: Diaphananthe bidens, Epiphytes, Ethnopharmacology, Medicinal plants, Orchids |
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Type of Study: Review |
Subject:
Other
Received: 2023/01/25 | Accepted: 2024/02/27 | Published: 2024/06/10
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