Primary evaluation of plants, with regards to chemical composition and activity in other biological systems

Abstract

With the systematic investigation of plants from the Potchefstroom district an attempt is made to document valuable data of taxa from Southern Africa, concerning the primary evaluation of their chemical constituents and activity in a few biological systems. Fresh or frozen plant material is used and the following tests are performed on each morphological part: chemical screening tests for several important secondary metabolites; tests to determine potential phototoxicity; direct-plate tests to evaluate antimicrobial activity; Hippocratic evaluation of pharmacological activity in mammals with the albino rat as model. These primary tests are briefly discussed.