Cryptolepis consists of the dried roots of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. Thin-stemmed twining or scrambling shrub; leaves elliptic, oblong-elliptic, apex acute to shortly acuminate, base symmetrical, petiolate, up to 7 cm long and 3 cm wide. The roots have a bitter flavour and are tonic. They are chewed, while the root bark or root extracts are taken as a tea, to treat a wide range of conditions including fever, hepatitis, malaria, hypertension, urinary and upper respiratory tract infections, colic, stomach complaints, amoebic dysentery and diarrhoea, wounds. The leaves and roots are rich in bioactive indole alkaloids such as cryptolepine, the major constituent of the root bark and the first alkaloid isolated from the plant. Cryptolepine has potent antiplasmodial activity, and also has anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, hypotensive, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycaemic activities