Critical review of the Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal: ethnobotany, pharmacological efficacy, and commercialization significance in Africa

Bulletin of the National Research Centre

Table 1 Ethnomedicinal usages of W. somnifera

Ethnomedicinal usage	Plant part	Geographical location	References
Nutrition	Young shoots	South Africa, India	Duke et al. (1985)
Eye treatments	Leaf	Kenya	Duke et al. (1985)
Abortifacients	Leaf, root	Morocco (used with other plants), South Africa	Merzouki et al. (2000), Moroole et al. (2019)
Sedatives	Root	South Africa	Elizabeth and Dabur (2002), Umadevi et al. (2012)
Aphrodisiac	Flower and dried mature roots	Tanzania, India	James (2002), Chauhan et al. (2014)
Kidneys, Fever	Leaf, root	South Africa	Van et al. (2008)
Skin infection (Smallpox, Measles, etc.)	Leaf, stem, and berry	South Africa, Jordan	Al-Qura'n (2009), Mabona and Van (2013)
Ethnoveterinary (Anthrax)	Dried roots	Ethiopia	Eshetu et al. (2015)
Gynaecological	Leaf, fruit, root	Lesotho, Pakistan	Moteetee and Seleteng (2016), Aziz et al. (2018b)
Haemorrhoids	Green fruit	Iran	Hashempur et al. (2017)
Pulmonary troubles	Leaf, root	Pakistan	Alamgeer et al. (2018)
Asthma and Malaria	Leaf-sap	Pakistan	Umair et al. (2019)