Abstract

The urge of every human being is perhaps beauty, the one quality that pleases the senses and that is why aesthetic representation has always been a matter of utmost value. Utilization of herbs is as ancient as the human race. Aloe vera, for example, is one of the most recognized African plants in the ancient history of humanity dating back to an Egyptian papyrus from 3500 BC to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle who enumerated the medicinal benefits of this remarkable plant. A plethora of acclaimed biological properties such as bleaching agent, anti-acne, anti-wrinkle, and anti-pigmentation among others exist in various herbal cosmetics. The use of phytocosmetics in the African culture is perhaps the oldest and most diverse of all other herbal pharmacopeia. Rural Africa is especially bestowed with the most attainable and most reasonably priced phytocosmetics prescribed by traditional healers accessible to the local community and sometimes the only option left for skincare in such remote areas. Nonetheless, there is still a paucity of updated compendium of propitious phytocosmetics from the African herbal pharmacopeia. The aim of this review is to present an updated general review of a few plants which are among the most popular and promising phytocosmetics from the African pharmacopeia. In this attempt, key scientific databases have been screened to probe trends of the rapidly increasing amount of scientific publications on phytocosmetics from the African herbal pharmacopeia. This review will also help to amplify the significance of phytocosmetics of African origin with different aspects, such as phytochemical profile, botanical aspects, biological properties, traditional uses, taxonomy, and clinical studies as well as future trials regarding the usage of these plants have been overviewed.

Keywords: Pharmacopeia, Africa, Phytocosmetics, Phytochemical