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Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2026)

Medicinal application, phytochemistry and biological activities of Combretum padoides Engl. & Diels

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.11923
Submitted
23 September 2025
Published
03-10-2026 — Updated on 13-10-2026
Versions

Abstract

Combretum padoides Engl. & Diels is a shrub or small tree which is widely used as a source of traditional medicine in tropical
Africa. The current study was aimed at documenting the medicinal applications, phytochemistry and biological activities of
C. padoides. This review is based on literature obtained from scientific databases such as SpringerLink®, PubMed®, Scopus®,
Web of Science (WoS), Google Scholar, ScienceDirect® and SciELO, as well as literature obtained from pre-electronic sources
such as books, book chapters and other scientific publications obtained from the university library. Results from this research
showed that C. padoides is used as a source of traditional medicines against conjunctivitis, snakebites, wounds, diarrhoea,
hookworms and malaria. Chemical compounds identified from C. padoides include flavonoids, steroids, phenolics, cardiac
glycosides, tannins, terpenoids and saponins. The crude extracts of C. padoides and phytochemical compounds isolated from the
species exhibited antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity
activities. Advanced ethnopharmacological research is required to establish the linkage between the varied phytochemical and
pharmacological properties of C. padoides and its therapeutic applications. Therefore, future studies on C. padoides should provide
further details on the phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological evaluations, as well as in vivo, pre-clinical and clinical
studies.

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