Stephen S Nyandoro
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Title: Biomedical potentials of rare plant metabolites from some rare Tanzanian plant species
Biography
Biography: Stephen S Nyandoro
Abstract
Tanzania is among the group of African countries with the highest levels of biodiversity, with an estimated 11,000 species of vascular plants, which is approximately 37% of the plant species of tropical Africa. The Tanzanian floral diversity is concentrated in its biodiversity hotspots comprising of the Coastal and Eastern Arc Mountain Forests, an ecological region globally ranked tenth for its biodiversity importance. The region is not only known for its high level of species richness, but also as a center of floral endemism with approximately 1,200 higher plant species so far reported to occur exclusively in Tanzania. Although numerous plant species are traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments and for other health care needs, such endemic and rare plant species growing in Tanzania may not be utilized as herbal remedies due to their non-conspicuousness. Thus, many of them have not been phytochemically investigated for bioactive metabolites. However, some of the rare plant species that have been studied have revealed a number of uncommon compounds, several of which also possess potent biomedical activities. Such plants include Toussaintia orientalis, Cleistochlamys kirkii, Sphaerocoryne gracillis ssp. gracillis, Lettowianthus stellatus, some Artabotrys and Uvaria species, which are among the rare plant species from the family Annonaceae, Stuhlmania moavi and Tessmannia species from the family Caesalpiniaceae that were recently included in the phytochemical investigations carried out in the Chemistry Department, University of Dares Salaam in order to unravel their bio-medically active and other constituents. The outcome of these investigations will be presented.