Leptadenia Pyrotechnica (Forsk.) Decne: From Edibility to Drug Discovery (A Comprehensive Review)

Seeking new bioactive compounds in drug research relies on the invention of new synthetic molecules and the discovery of natural phytochemicals from medicinal plants. Thus, natural products are one of the pillars of drug discovery. Leptadenia pyrotechnica is a promising edible herbal plant, which has common traditional uses in Asia and Africa to cure various serious diseases. Numerous research studies reported that this plant has many valuable bioactive constituents with several pharmacological activities. Therefore, this plant could be a source for the development of novel lead pharmaceutical compounds. This review discusses the significance of this plant to human health and thus drug discovery by providing a comprehensive report on the recorded data of folk uses, phytochemicals along with their analysis techniques, toxicity, and pharmacological effects of this plant. This will help researchers find out the recent drug discovery research progress that was accomplished on this plant as well as the available gaps to fulfill. A systemic search was conducted according to PRISMA at which 15 primary databases were explored. The results showed that 38 pharmacological and 44 chemical studies were conducted on this plant leading to the determination of more than 200 phytochemicals and 17 biological activities of this plant.