Medicinal plants from the genus Alchornea (Euphorbiaceae): a review of their ethnopharmacology uses and phytochemistry

The genus Alchornea compromises 55 accepted and other two unresolved species (Alchornea acerifera Croizat and Alchornea oblonga Müll. Arg.) which well various ecosystems over all the continents, with a special pantropical distribution. Numerous reports of ethnopharmacological uses of species belonging this genus exist mainly in Africa and Brazil, to treat different inflammatory and infectious diseases: arthritis, dysentery, infectious diseases, inflammation, intestinal disorders, fractures, leprosy, malaria, management of ringworm affections, muscle pain, rheumatism and ulcer. The genus Alchornea, contains different secondary metabolites and they have been reported such as: Alkaloids, terpenes and steroids, phenolic acid, saponins, principaly. The aim of the present review is to provide gathered and organized information with pharmacological, toxicological, traditional and phytochemical traits of plants from the Alchornea genus in order to define the biological potential of the genus and to define a state-of-art-platform stating the perspectives for further pharmacological/chemotaxonomical studies.