Natural products have been used in folklore for the treatment of many illnesses and diseases. They have been the most productive source of leads for the development of many effective drugs now available in orthodox medicine. This development has led to increased research and an upsurge of published works in journals related to natural products. Though many of these journals and publications are open access online, there is the need to bring into focus and shape the thinking and research opportunities of those scientists engaged in the field of natural products by bringing together in form of a review, the publications that are available on a given natural product. The first in this series of reviews is on Hymenocardia acida, a plant that is widely used in African complementary medicine. The review covers phytochemical constituents, ethnomedicinal and pharmacological activities of this plant. The areas requiring further research on this plant becomes easily identifiable, thus avoiding duplication, wastage of man hour and resources.
