Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30285713›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2018

A comprehensive study of the potential phytomedicinal use and toxicity of invasive Tithonia species in South Africa.

Aitebiremen Gift Omokhua, Muna Ali Abdalla, Johannes Van Staden, Lyndy Joy McGaw

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Defensive Compounds Involved in the Invasiveness ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. PeerJ · 2023
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Aitebiremen Gift OmokhuaPhytomedicine Programme, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
Muna Ali AbdallaDeparment of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, 13314, Khartoum North, Sudan. munalsamahoni@yahoo.com.
Johannes Van StadenResearch Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3201, South Africa.
Lyndy Joy McGawPhytomedicine Programme, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital · ZAUniversity of Khartoum · SDUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal · ZAUniversity of Pretoria · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTithonia diversifolia and T. rotundifolia belong to the Asteraceae family and are native to Mexico and Central America. These plants have become invasive in parts of tropical Africa and Asia where they have become an ecological, agricultural and economic burden. Tithonia diversifolia is exploited by locals in its native and most parts of its invasive range as a source of medicines; however, T. rotundifolia is only used for medicinal purposes in one country in the native range (Venezuela) and none in the invasive range. Although T. diversifolia has been studied for different biological activities, little or no attention has been given to T. rotundifolia. This study compared the antimicrobial activity, phytochemistry, identification of bioactive compound(s) and toxicity levels of different leaf extracts and fractions of T. diversifolia and T. rotundifolia.

methodsAntimicrobial activity was evaluated against seven pathogenic bacteria, four non-pathogenic Mycobacterium species and three fungal species using serial microdilution assays. Phytochemical contents were determined through standard methods of analysis. UPLC/MS was used to analyse the fractions to identify possible bioactive compounds that may be responsible for bioactivity, while toxicity tests were carried out using the colorimetric MTT assay and the Ames test.

resultsBoth species had a range of antimicrobial activity against bacterial, mycobacterial and fungal species. However, T. rotundifolia displayed better activity against most of the strains tested with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging between 0.01 and 0.07 mg/ml. Both species were rich in phenolics, flavonoids and tannins. Tagitinin A was identified as the main compound present in both species, and this compound may be responsible for the antimicrobial activity displayed. Toxicity tests showed that T. diversifolia was cytotoxic at concentrations used in this study, while T. rotundifolia was not. Both species did not show any mutagenic/genotoxic effects.

conclusionThe above results suggest that both species may be further developed as a source of antimicrobials for the treatment of infections caused by opportunistic pathogens. They may also serve as alternatives to highly exploited plant species with the same medicinal properties. However, T. diversifolia should be used with caution as it may be toxic.

Indexed as

AnimalsAnti-Infective AgentsAsteraceaeBacteriaCell SurvivalChlorocebus aethiopsChromatography, High Pressure LiquidFungiIntroduced SpeciesMass SpectrometryMolecular StructurePlant ExtractsSouth AfricaVero CellsAnti-Infective AgentsPlant ExtractsAlienAntimicrobialGenotoxicityInvasivePhytochemicalSelectivity indexSouth AfricaToxicity

Identifiers

PMID30285713
PMCPMC6171246
OpenAlexW2895151453

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.