POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS OF THE EASTERN NIGERIAN MISTLETOES
EDWIN OGECHUKWU OMEJE1,5,6,7,*†, CHRISTIAN A OREVA AKPO2, IKEMEFUNA CHIJIOKE UZOCHUKWU1,3, MATTHIAS ONYEBUCHI AGBO1,7, WILFRED OFEM OBONGA1, JUSTINA NGOZI NWODO1, PHILIP FELIX UZOR1,7, DAMIAN OBIOHA1, JOHN UZOMA1, PAMELA AKARAEKWE1, SYLVESTER CHUKWUEMEKA NWORU4, LAWRENCE ONUGWU1, PATIENCE OGOAMAKA OSADEBE1, CHATTOPADHYAY NAIBEDYA5†, AKIRA KAWAMURA6, PETER PROKSCH7†
1 Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Enugu, Nigeria.
2 Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria.
3 Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.
4 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Enugu, Nigeria.
5 Department of Endocrinology, Central Drug Research Institute, Sitapur Road, Sector 10, Jankipuram Extension, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226031, India.
6 Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
7 Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 18(2): 808-813; 2026
ABSTRACT
In our efforts to provide comparative scientific data supporting the medicinal cum potential therapeutic and putative clinical applications of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoes (Loranthus micranthus (Linn) or Tapinanthus globiferus (A. Rich). Together, we successfully investigated and documented several biological activities of this species of mistletoes. Besides, several preparations mostly decoctions from teas of mistletoes are available in Nigerian drug markets which demand scientific documentation of supporting evidence, including safety profile for their continued use and subsequent approval in Nigeria and beyond. Documented data and biological activities of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoes include: preliminary phytochemical, anti-diabetic, toxicology, immunomodulatory, immuno-adjuvanting, lectin-like, antimicrobial (anti-tuberculosis), anti-inflammatory, antitumour, osteogenic and antioxidant properties. In all, efforts were targeted at establishing the exactness of the structural chemical principles responsible for each identified activity. We herein report the summary of findings with respect to these investigated biological activities of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoes.
Keywords: Mistletoes, Eastern Nigeria, Clinical applications, biological activities, Loranthus micranthus, Tapinanthus globiferus
*Correspondence: [email protected]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59493/ajopred/2026.2.9 | ISSN: 0794-800X (print); 1596-2431 (online)