Bulbous Plants Drimia: "A Thin Line between Poisonous and Healing Compounds" with Biological Activities

Madira Coutlyne Manganyi; Gothusaone Simon Tlatsana; Given Thato Mokoroane; Keamogetswe Prudence Senna; John Frederick Mohaswa; Kabo Ntsayagae; Justine Fri; Collins Njie Ateba

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics13091385

Bulbous Plants Drimia: "A Thin Line between Poisonous and Healing Compounds" with Biological Activities

Pharmaceutics. 2021 Sep 1;13(9):1385. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13091385.

Authors

Madira Coutlyne Manganyi¹, Gothusaone Simon Tlatsana², Given Thato Mokoroane², Keamogetswe Prudence Senna², John Frederick Mohaswa², Kabo Ntsayagae², Justine Fri², Collins Njie Ateba³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, PBX1, Mthatha 5117, South Africa.
² Department of Microbiology, Mafikeng Campus, North West University, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
³ Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.

Abstract

Drimia (synonym Urginea) plants are bulbous plants belonging to the family Asparagaceae (formerly the family Hyacinthaceae) and are distinctive, powerful medicinal plants. Just some species are indigenous to South Africa and have been traditionally utilized for centuries to cure various diseases and/or ailments. They have been recognized among the most famous and used medicinal plants in South Africa. Traditionally, the plants are used for various illnesses such as dropsy, respiratory disease, bone and joint complications, skin disorders, epilepsy and cancer. A number of studies have reported biological properties such as antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anticancer activities. Their bulbs are a popular treatment for colds, measles, pneumonia, coughs, fever and headaches. However, some plant species are regarded as one of the six most common poisonous plants in Southern Africa that are toxic to livestock and humans. Due to the therapeutic effects of the Drimia plant bulb, research has focused on the phytochemicals of Drimia species. The principal constituents isolated from this genus are cardiac glycosides. In addition, phenolic compounds, phytosterols and other phytochemical constituents were identified. This study constitutes a critical review of Drimia species' bioactive compounds, toxicology, biological properties and phytochemistry, advocating it as an important source for effective therapeutic medicine. For this purpose, various scientific electronic databases such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed and Web of Science were researched and reviewed to conduct this study. Despite well-studied biological investigations, there is limited research on the toxic properties and the toxic compounds of certain Drimia species. Searching from 2017 to 2021, Google Scholar search tools retrieved 462 publications; however, only 3 investigated the toxicity and safety aspects of Drimia. The aim was to identify the current scientific research gap on Drimia species, hence highlighting a thin line between poisonous and healing compounds, dotted across numerous publications, in this review paper.

Keywords: Drimia; Urginea; bulbous plants; compounds; poisonous; toxicity.

Publication types

Review