Ethno medicinal uses, phytochemistry and anti-malarial effect of Croton macrostachyus (Bisana): A review

Background: Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Del. which belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, has been utilized as a remedy for malaria, abdominal pain, gonorrhea, wounds, ringworm infestation, hemorrhoids, ascariasis, epilepsy, rabies venereal diseases, cough, rheumatism, liver problem and other ailments in Ethiopian traditional medicines. Objective: The aim of this review article to explore and compile the ethno medicinal uses, phytochemistry and anti-malarial activity of this plant.Methodology: A comprehensive and systematic literature search on the following databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus were undertaken using the key words: Croton macrostachyus, ethnomedicine, phytochemistry and pharmacology so as to document this article.Results: Next to leaf, bark is reported as remedy for a vast number of ailments among the various plant parts, in Ethiopian traditional medicine. Preliminary phytochemical qualitative tests on the different solvent crude extracts of the plant parts revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids saponins, free anthraquinones, phytosterols, polyphenols and Wthanoides. Further fractionation and characterization approaches on the most biologically active crude extracts led to the isolation of many secondary metabolites from the given medicinal plant. Cyclohexane die oxides such as crotepoxide, lupeol and betulin, cis-clerodane, crotomacrine, 3β-Acetoxy tetraxer-14-en-28-oic acid, trachylina-19-oic acid, trachylina-18-oic acid are among the isolated compounds from various parts of Croton macrostachyus.Conclusion: The present review paper has attempted to explore ethno medicinal uses, phytochemical constituents and the anti-malarial activity of one of the croton species, Croton macrostachyus which is native to Ethiopia and other Eastern African countries. This plant is used in Ethiopian folklore medicine for the treatment of malaria, gonorrhea, diabetes, wounds, fungal infections, helminthes and others.