Reproductive, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, protective and antidiabetic activities of Helichrysum Mill. species

South African Helichrysum species are known for their diverse medicinal use and treatment of different illnesses. Ethnopharmacological studies have revealed the potential use of Helichrysum plants in drug discovery. Although some of these species have been documented, there is still a paucity of information on most species. This review seeks to provide a compilation of documented traditional uses, reproductive potential, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, protective and antidiabetic activities and other therapeutic properties of some Helichrysum species of South Africa. Information on Helichrysum cymosum, H. foetidum, H. odoratissimum, H. patulum and H. petiolare were collected from such scientific databases as Google scholar, Scifinder, PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, and Science Direct in the form of journal articles, scientific reports, theses and books from the Library of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Our findings show that these species have historic values in traditional medicine through their diverse use for the management and treatment of such illnesses as cold, diabetes, headaches, digestive problems, sores and wounds, HIV, cancer, etc. Additionally, the reported bioactive constituents isolated from these species have been shown to indicate several activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, neuroprotection, reproductive potentials, etc. Thus, the current review highlights the phytochemical and bioactive constituents as well as some of the pharmacological properties of the five selected Helichrysum species with a view to providing validation for their use in the pharmaceutical drug development process.