The Asteraceae family of plants is a widely distributed medicinal plant throughout the world and has been used since ancient time. Members of this family have been used traditionally as astringent, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, diaphoretic in fevers, smooth muscle relaxant, nerve tonics, laxatives and for the treatment of wounds, bleedings, headache, pains, spasmodic diseases, flatulence, dyspepsia dysentery, lumbago, leucorrhoea, hemorrhoids, gangrenous ulcer and disorders causing cachexia.Phytochemical investigations of the Asteraceae family have revealed that many components from this family are highly bioactive. There are many reports on the mentioned herbal effects. Although, the medicinal properties ofplants belonging to the Asteraceae family are recognized worldwide, there is no review article mainly about the structures of the phytochemical constituents of the plant of the asteraceaefamily. The present paper reviews the medicinal properties alongside with peculiar phytoconstituent of various plants belonging to the Asteraceae family. Various medicinal effects of these plants may be due to the presence of a broad range of secondary bioactive metabolites such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarins, terpenoids (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and triterpenes) and sterols which have been frequently reported from the Asteraceae family.

Two flavonol glycosides; U1: naringenin-7-O-glucoside and U2: kaempferol-3-O-glucoside were isolated for the first time, from ethyl acetate fraction of the stem bark of a traditional medicinal plant called Uapaca heudelotti. IR and NMR spectroscopy were used to elucidate the structures of the isolated compound. The two compounds were active against the 7 tested microorganisms; Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus mirabilis. The zones of inhibition of the compounds ranged from 16 to 23 mm.The MIC value was as low as 6.25 μg/mL against Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Bacillus subtilis. The radical scavenging activity of compound U1 and U2 was 80 and 85 % at 240 μg/mL, while that of the standard drug was 98% at 240 μg/mL. The results show an existent possibility of using the plant for the treatment of microbial diseases.

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