INTRODUCTION:

Vernoniastrum ambiguum (Kotschy and Peyr.) H. Rob. is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae or Compositae family. This species was originally treated under the genus Vernonia Schreb.,¹ a genus that is now known to be restricted to North America.² The study by Isawumi¹ showed that the genus Vernonia is paraphyletic and Robinson³ split this genus into several satellite genera including Vernoniastrum H. Rob. based on morphological characters.^4,5 The genus Vernoniastrum consists of 12 species which are mainly annual or perennial herbs ranging in height from 0.3 to 1.0 metres that have been recorded in east, west, central and southern Africa.⁶ Synonyms of V. ambiguum include Cacalia ambigua Kuntze and Vernonia ambigua Kotschy and Peyr.

Vernoniastrum ambiguum is an annual herb growing up to a height of 0.3 metres.⁷ The stems of V. ambiguum are erect, pubescent with long spreading crispate simple hairs. The leaves are sessile with long hairs, crowded, oblanceolate in shape with apiculate to obtuse apex. The flowers are violet to white in colour on solitary or a few terminal or axillary capitula. The fruit is a tiny dry nutlet achene with white hairs at one end. Vernoniastrum ambiguum has been recorded in deciduous woodland and disturbed habitats in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia at an altitude ranging from 1300 m to 1700 m above sea level.⁷ Vernoniastrum ambiguum is categorized as a weed, growing along roadsides or on farmland in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zanzibar, and the species is also used as traditional medicine in these countries.^8,9 Vernoniastrum ambiguum is also collected as a leafy vegetable in Benin.¹⁰ Vernoniastrum ambiguum is categorized as an important fodder for goats and sheep in Cameroon¹¹ and an important nectariferous plant species in Nigeria.¹² Some researchers including Chinwe⁹ and Aworinde et al.¹³ argue that V. ambiguum is difficult to differentiate from other Asteraceae species such as Cyanthillium cinereum (L.) H. Rob., Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch. Bip. ex Walp. and G. glaberrimum (Welw. ex O. Hoffm.) H. Rob. These authors argued that anatomical characters such as features of the midrib, petiole and epidermal strip can be used as additional taxonomical characters to differentiate the species. It is therefore, within this background that the current study was undertaken aimed at documenting the pharmacological properties, phytochemistry and medicinal uses of V. ambiguum.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Results of the current study are based on literature search on phytochemistry, pharmacological properties and medicinal uses of V. ambiguum using information derived from several internet databases. The databases included Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct. Other sources of information such as pre-electronic sources which included journal articles, theses, books, book chapters and other scientific articles were gathered from the University library.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Medicinal uses of Vernoniastrum ambiguum:

The leaves, roots and whole plant parts of V. ambiguum are used as traditional medicines for dysmenorrhoea, gonorrhoea, impotence, postpartum pains, colds, female and male infertility, malaria, fever and cough (Table 1, Figure 1). In Cameroon, the leaves of V. ambiguum are mixed with those of Emilia coccinea (Sims) G. Don and Solanecio biafrae (Oliv. and Hiern) C. Jeffrey, and taken orally in Raphia hookeri G. Mann and H. Wendl. wine as traditional medicine for dysmenorrhoea, female or male infertility, gonorrhoea, impotence and postpartum pains.^14-17 In Cameroon, the leaves of V. ambiguum are mixed with those of Aspilia africana (Pers.) C.D. Adams, Blumea heudelotii (C. D. Adams) Lisowski, Rotala stagnina Hiern, Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. and Tapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. and K. Krause) Danser as traditional medicine for epilepsy.¹⁸

Figure 1: Medicinal applications of Vernoniastrum ambiguum derived from literature records

Table 1: Medicinal uses of Vernoniastrum ambiguum

Medicinal use	Parts used	Country	References
Cancer	Leaf decoction taken orally	Angola	[19]
Colds	Root decoction taken orally	Tanzania	[15,20-22]
Cough	Root decoction taken orally	Nigeria and Tanzania	[15,16,20-25]
Dysmenorrhoea	Leaves mixed with those of Emilia coccinea (Sims) G. Don and Solanecio biafrae (Oliv. and Hiern) C. Jeffrey, and taken orally in Raphia hookeri G. Mann and H. Wendl. wine	Cameroon	[14,15]
Epilepsy	Leaves mixed with those of Aspilia africana (Pers.) C.D. Adams, Blumea heudelotii (C. D. Adams) Lisowski, Rotala stagnina Hiern, Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. and Tapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. and K. Krause) Danser	Cameroon	[18]
Female or male infertility	Leaves mixed with those of E. coccinea and S. biafrae, and taken orally in R. hookeri wine	Cameroon	[14-17]
Fever	Root infusion or decoction taken orally	Nigeria and Tanzania	[16,20,23-25]
Gonorrhoea	Leaves mixed with those of E. coccinea and S. biafrae, and taken orally in R. hookeri wine	Cameroon	[14,15]
Impotence	Leaves mixed with those of E. coccinea and S. biafrae, and taken orally in R. hookeri wine	Cameroon	[14,15]
Inflammation of uterus	Leaf infusion or decoction taken orally	Cameroon	[17]
Malaria	Whole plant parts infusion or decoction taken orally	Nigeria	[15,16,21,22,24]
Ovarian and uterus cysts	Leaf infusion or decoction taken orally	Cameroon	[17]
Postpartum pains	Leaves mixed with those of E. coccinea and S. biafrae, and taken orally in R. hookeri wine	Cameroon	[14,15]
Vaginal cleaning	Leaf macerate applied topically	Cameroon	[17]
Venereal diseases	Leaf infusion or decoction taken orally	Cameroon	[17]

Phytochemistry of Vernoniastrum ambiguum:

Aliyu²⁴ identified glaucolide sesquiterpene compound 5,6-dehydrobrachycalyxolide, and other compounds such as lupeol, lupeol acetate and chrysoeriol from the leaves of V. ambiguum. Other phytochemical compounds identified from the aerial parts, leaves, seeds and whole plant parts of V. ambiguum include alkaloids, amino acids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, fats, flavonoids, oils, phenols, reducing sugars, saponins, sterols, steroids, tannins, terpenes and triterpenes.^{16,22,23,26-30} Other researchers, see Table 2, quantified the heavy metals, mineral elements, nutritional and proximate properties of the aerial parts, leaves and whole plant parts of V. ambiguum as these may be of interest in product development and quality control. Previous research revealed that some of these phytochemical compounds may be responsible for the biological activities of the species.^31-40

Table 2: Heavy metals, mineral elements, nutritional and proximate properties of Vernoniastrum ambiguum

Compounds, elements and proximate components	Values	Plant parts	References
1,1-Diethoxy-3-methylbutane (%)	15.6	Leaves	[29]
3,7,11,15-Tetramethyl-2-hexadacen-1-ol (%)	10.3	Leaves	[29]
Acid-insoluble ash (%)	2.4 – 3.2	Aerial parts and whole plant	[23,26]
Alcohol-soluble extractive (%)	3.7 - 5.5	Aerial parts and whole plant	[23,26]
Cadmium (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.009	Leaves	[42]
Calcium (mg/100 g/dry weight)	89.0	Leaves	[42]
Caryophyllene oxide (%)	6.5	Leaves	[29]
Chromium (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.6	Leaves	[42]
Cobalt (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.3	Leaves	[42]
Copper (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.3	Leaves	[42]
Hexadecanoic acid (%)	13.3	Leaves	[29]
Iron (mg/100 g/dry weight)	21.9	Leaves	[42]
Isoamylacetate (%)	6.5	Leaves	[29]
Lead (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.05	Leaves	[42]
Linoleic acid (%)	10.2	Leaves	[29]
Linolenic acid (%)	12.0	Leaves	[29]
Magnesium (mg/100 g/dry weight)	8.7	Leaves	[42]
Manganese (mg/100 g/dry weight)	2.0	Leaves	[42]
Moisture content (%)	8.2 – 8.8	Aerial parts and whole plant	[23,26]
Phytol (%)	10.8	Leaves	[29]
Total ash (%)	13.8 - 13.9	Aerial parts and whole plant	[23,26]
Water-soluble extractive (%)	20.1 - 20.6	Aerial parts and whole plant	[23,26]
Zinc (mg/100 g/dry weight)	0.4	Leaves	[42]

Pharmacological properties of Vernoniastrum ambiguum:

The following biological activities have been reported from the aerial parts, leaves, roots and whole plant parts of V. ambiguum: antibacterial,^25-27,43 antifungal,^26,28,29 anti-quorum sensing inhibition,²⁴ antioxidant,^16,22 antiplasmodial^16,22 and hepatoprotective⁴⁴ activities.

Antibacterial activities:

Kunle et al.²⁶ evaluated the antibacterial activities of methanol extracts of aerial parts of V. ambiguum against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus faecalis, Corynebacterium ulcerans, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Klebsialla ozaenae, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas flourescense and Shigella dysenteriae using disc diffusion and broth dilution methods with sparfloxacin (0.2mg/ml) and erythromycin (0.5mg/ml) as positive controls. The extract exhibited activities against the tested pathogens with zone of inhibition ranging from 15.0mm to 24.0mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 2.5mg/ml to 5.0mg/ml while the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value was 10.0mg/ml.²⁶ Aliyu et al.²⁷ evaluated the antibacterial activities of ethanol and chloroform extracts of aerial parts of V. ambiguum against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynbacterium ulcerans, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella dysentriae, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas fluorescence using disc diffusion and micro-broth dilution methods with ampiclox (75.0µg/dics) and streptomycin (30.0µg/dics) as positive controls. The extracts exhibited activities against most pathogens with the exception of Shigella dysentriae, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas fluorescence with the zone of inhibition ranging from 14.0mm to 22.0mm in comparison to 20.0mm to 27.0 mm exhibited by the positive controls. The MIC values ranged from 1.3mg/mL to 2.5mg/mL.²⁷ Akinwande et al.⁴³ evaluated the efficacy of supplementing diet with the ethanolic extract of V. ambiguum leaves on the innate immune response in Heterobranchus longifilis (African catfish) and resistance to bacterial species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Feeding Heterobranchus longifilis with 5.0% of 100g/kg of feed daily for a period of 42 days resulted in enhancing the blood leukocyte phagocytic and increased leukocytes respiratory burst activities. While bacterial mortalities recorded following 42 days of supplementary feeding with the extract resulted in 44.0% relative percent survival.⁴³ Okafo et al.²⁵ evaluated the antibacterial activities of ethanol extract of the leaves of V. ambiguum against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the disc diffusion method with gentamicin as a positive control. The extract exhibited weak activities against tested pathogens with zone of inhibition ranging from 2.0mm to 10.0mm in comparison to 28.5mm to 36.0mm exhibited by the positive control.²⁵

Antifungal activities:

Kunle et al.²⁶ evaluated the antifungal activities of methanol extracts of aerial parts of V. ambiguum against Aspergillus fumigates, Candida albicans, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton rubrum using disc diffusion and broth dilution methods with flouconazole (0.5 mg/ml) as a positive control. The extract exhibited activities against Candida albicans with the zone of inhibition, MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of 17.0mm, 5.0mg/ml and 10.0mg/ml, respectively.²⁶ Ilondu²⁸ evaluated the antifungal activities of ethanolic extract of V. ambiguum leaves against Sclerotium roltsii at the concentrations of 100.0 mg/ml, 80.0mg/ml. 60.0mg/ml, 40.0mg/ml and 20.0 mg/ml using the disc diffusion assay. The extract exhibited dose-dependent activities against the pathogen, causing 100% inhibition at 80mg/ml while at 60.0 mg/ml, the extract inhibited the Sclerotium roltsii germination.²⁸ Ilondu²⁹ evaluated the antifungal activities of the ethanolic extracts of the V. ambiguum leaves against Cercosporella persica and Curvularia lunatus isolates of groundnut leafspot disease at the concentrations of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500mg/mL tested on potato dextrose agar medium with dithane M-45 as a positive control. The maximum growth inhibition of Cercosporella persica was observed at 200.0mg/mL and 300.0mg/mL for Curvularia lunatus.²⁹

Anti-quorum sensing inhibition:

Aliyu²⁴ evaluated the anti-quorum sensing inhibition activities of the crude extracts of V. ambiguum leaves and the compounds lupeol, lupeol acetate and 5,6-dehydrobrachycalyxolide isolated from the leaves of the species using the violacein inhibition assay. The crude extract and all the compounds exhibited activities with inhibition ≥84.0% at a concentration of 2.6mg/mL.²⁴

Antioxidant activities:

Builders et al.¹⁶ evaluated the antioxidant activities of the aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts using 2,2’-diphenyl-1 picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay with ascorbic acid as a standard drug. The extract exhibited moderate antioxidant activities.¹⁶ Builders²² evaluated the antioxidant activities of the aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts using the DPPH free radical scavenging assay with ascorbic acid as a standard drug. The extract exhibited concentration dependent activities with percentage inhibition ranging from 70.0% to 80.0%.²²

Antiplasmodial activities:

Builders et al.¹⁶ evaluated in vivo antiplasmodial activities of aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts assessed using four days suppressive, curative and prophylactic effects in Swiss albino mice at doses of 50.0, 100.0, 200.0, 300.0, 400.0, 500.0 and 600.0mg/kg po body weight administered with Plasmodium berghei and chloroquine as a positive control. The extracts exhibited dose dependent inhibitions of parasitaemia of 56.9%, 57.7%, 63.0% in suppressive, curative and prophylactic tests, respectively at a dose of 600.0mg/kg po. Builders et al.¹⁶ also evaluated in vitro antiplasmodial activities of aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts against Plasmodium falciparum using the in vitro micro test. The in vitro screening exhibited moderate activities with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value of 31.6 μg/mL.¹⁶ Builders²² evaluated in vivo antiplasmodial activities of aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts assessed using four days suppressive, curative and prophylactic effects in Swiss albino mice at doses of 200.0, 400.0 and 600.0mg/kg po body weight administered with Plasmodium berghei and chloroquine as a positive control. The extracts exhibited dose dependent inhibitions of parasitaemia in suppressive, curative and prophylactic tests. Builders²² also evaluated in vitro antiplasmodial activities of aqueous extracts of V. ambiguum whole plant parts against Plasmodium falciparum using the in vitro micro test. The in vitro screening exhibited moderate activities with IC₅₀ value of 31.6μg/mL.²²

Hepatoprotective activity:

Orji et al.⁴⁴ evaluated the hepatoprotective activities of the ethanol extract of V. ambiguum leaves using the carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatotoxicity model to assess the effect of the extract on liver damage in wistar albino rats with silymarin as a positive control. The extract exhibited dose-dependent activities causing a decrease in the liver marker enzymes, bilirubin, total cholesterol and triacylglycerols.⁴⁴

CONCLUSION:

The present review summarizes the medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of V. ambiguum. Although V. ambiguum has been the subject of phytochemical and pharmacological research for several years, there is not yet enough data correlating the ethnomedicinal uses of the species with its phytochemical and pharmacological properties. Detailed studies on the pharmacokinetics, in vivo and clinical research involving both extracts and compounds isolated from the species are required. Therefore, future research should focus on the molecular modes or mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics and physiological pathways for specific extracts of the species including identification of the bioactive compounds of the species and their associated pharmacological activities.

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Received on 18.03.2020 Modified on 03.05.2020

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2020; 13(10):4715-4719.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2020.00830.6