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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World - Africa Volume 3 pp 283–309Cite as

Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Therapeutic Potentials of Some Wild Nigerian Medicinal Trees

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Part of the book series: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World ((MAPW,volume 3))

Abstract

With its location in an extensive geographical area that spread from the Mangrove forest in the south to the Sahel savannah in the north, Nigeria has diverse tropical vegetation with varying economic and medicinal significance. The vegetation, among other uses is a source of herbal medicine on which a large proportion of its populace relies for primary health care. Trees have a large repository of phytochemicals, to which the various pharmacological and therapeutic attributes can be ascribed. This article is a concise review of nine trees with medicinal importance belonging to eight families, which are widely used in Nigerian traditional and indigenous medicine. For each plant, information on the taxonomy, morphology, geographical distribution, ecological requirements, major chemical constituents and bioactive compounds, traditional uses and medicinal uses based on biological activities, as well as uses supported by clinical data are provided.

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Acknowledgements

Some of Professor S.E. Atawodi’s research work was partly supported by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biochemistry Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

    Sunday E. Atawodi, Olufunsho D. Olowoniyi, Godwin O. Adejo & Mubarak L. Liman

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  1. Sunday E. Atawodi
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  2. Olufunsho D. Olowoniyi
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  3. Godwin O. Adejo
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  4. Mubarak L. Liman
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Correspondence to Sunday E. Atawodi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arid Zone Research Institute, Médenine, Tunisia

    Mohamed Neffati

  2. Min of Agriculture, Range Ecology Laboratory, Arid Zone Research Institute, Médenine, Tunisia

    Hanen Najjaa

  3. Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, University of West Hungary, Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary

    Ákos Máthé

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Atawodi, S.E., Olowoniyi, O.D., Adejo, G.O., Liman, M.L. (2017). Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Therapeutic Potentials of Some Wild Nigerian Medicinal Trees. In: Neffati, M., Najjaa, H., Máthé, Á. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World - Africa Volume 3. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1120-1_11

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