Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Aframomum angustifolium (Sonn.) K. Schum (Zingiberaceae): A Mini Review

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of the population in Africa in general and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in particular, resorts to Traditional Medicine to solve the problem of primary health care. In this study we had reviewed the relevance of A. angustifoolium in phytochemical composition, traditional use and biological activities based on scientific results obtained from Google Scholar, PubMed, Sciencedirect, Web of Science, Scopus and Chemical Abstracts. Moreover, after compiling the research data of several authors, the results show that this plant is of great interest because it has a wide range of biological properties like antioxidant, antiageing, antiparasitic, anti-nociceptive activities. This wide range of biological properties of A. angustifolium would be much attributed to the essential oil compounds such as β-pinene and β-caryophyllene which are the major compounds in this plant. This review will therefore guide future research on the use of A. angustifolium β-caryophyllene rich-extract as anti-inflammatory medicine for the management of Sickle cell anemia.