Trypanocidal activity of bergenin, the major constituent of Flueggea virosa, on Trypanosoma brucei.

The presence of bergenin in substantial amounts in the methanol leaves extract of Flueggea virosa (Euphorbiaceae) was established as a strong chemotaxomic point of differentiation between Flueggea virosa and Securinega virosa. Bergenin showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei with an IC50 value of 1 microM.