title: Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, toxicology and pharmacological properties of Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC. (Combretaceae) - A review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of medicinal plants in the treatment of infections is ancient. A wide variety of ethnotherapeutic properties and pharmacological actions has been attributed to Terminalia sericea. Studies by various groups of investigators reveal that it is a multipurpose medicinal plant used mostly in the treatment of diarrhoea, sexually transmitted infections, skin rashes, tuberculosis and other infections. The current paper is aimed at providing an overview of the ethnomedicinal uses, toxicology, pharmacology and the phytochemistry of Terminalia sericea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information was retrieved using various search engines, including Pubmed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scielo, SciFinder and Scopus. The key words used included Terminalia sericea, secondary metabolites, phytochemistry, biological activity, pharmacology, ethnobotanical survey, medicinal uses, safety, toxicology and other related words.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Terminalia sericea is an important medicinal plant which possesses anti-HIV, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anticancer, lipolytic, wound healing, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity, as the most valuable biological activities, thus lending pharmacological support to the plant's folkloric uses in indigenous medicine. Toxicologically, the extracts and isolated compounds from the plant species may have mild toxic effects. Phytochemically, the plant species possesses valuable compounds including triterpenes, alkaloids and flavonoids which may well contribute to its biological activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Terminalia sericea contains secondary metabolites which are valuable in the treatment of a variety of human infections, including community acquired infections which may be prevalent in developing countries. The degree of toxicity reported in various extracts warrants further exploration of the cytotoxicity of the plant species, both against normal human cell lines and in vivo. Moreover, the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and anti-inflammatory effects also need to be further investigated as there are only a few reports from the literature on these aspects. There is also a need to further understand the mode of action of the extracts against various enzymes relating to inflammation. Antioxidant activity of the plant extracts against various forms of free radicals needs to be investigated. Although T. sericea is reported to be used for ethnoveterinary infections, there are no scientific reports on the anti-parasitic activity of the plant species against common animal parasites.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa; University of South Africa, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Private Bag X6, Florida 1710, South Africa.
authors.forename: N I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Mongalo
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa; University of Pretoria, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: McGaw
authors.affiliation: University of Zululand, Department of Chemistry, Private Bag x1001, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa.
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Segapelo
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Finnie
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa. Electronic address: rcpgd@ukzn.ac.za.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Staden
mesh_terms: D019448:Ethnobotany; D006801:Humans; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D029766:Terminalia / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Combretaceae; Ethnomedicine; Pharmacology; Sericoside; Terminalia sericea