Phytochemical & Pharmacological Study of Garcinia Ovalifolia, Cameroon

The genus Garcinia (Guttiferae) comprises about 450 species widely distributed in tropical Africa, Asia, New Caledonia and Polynesia of which about 200 species are found in the Tropical African Region alone. Twenty-two (22) species are listed in Cameroon, representing about 11% of the total species confined in the Tropical African Region. In Cameroon, these plants have a wide and varied range of uses for food, industry and multiple traditional pharmacopeia purposes. Phytochemical study was carried out on Garcinia ovalifolia harvested in the North Region of Cameroon. Isolated pure compounds were structurally elucidated by spectroscopic methods vis-a-vis existing scientific literature. Pharmacological study of the isolated compounds and methanol crude extract ascertained its use in traditional medicine. However more work is yet to be done on this species and the genus as a whole.