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In pharmacological tests dicentrine, cycleanine and salutaridine showed significant anticancer activities against several cancer cell lines, but this was coupled with a high cytotoxicity. Cycleanine has shown selective antiplasmodial and antiprotozoal activities as well as spasmolytic activity in vitro. Cycleanine furthermore showed antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and dicentrine antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro. A methanol extract of the leaves, as well as isolated dicentrine and another isolated alkaloid, neolitsine, showed significant anthelmintic activity against larvae of the stomach parasite ''Haemonchus contortus''. In an in-vivo essay, oral administration of dicentrine resulted in 67% reduction of worm counts in mice at a dose of 25 mg/kg.

Dioecious shrub up to 1 m tall, with rhizome; stems glabrous or short-hairy, with longitudinal ridges. Leaves arranged spirally, simple; stipules absent; petiole up to 2.5 cm long, glabrous; blade ovate to deltoid, up to 4 cm × 3.5 cm, base cuneate to truncate, apex obtuse to retuse, often with mucro, margin entire to slightly undulate, leathery, glabrous to hairy, greyish to bright green, palmately 3–5-veined. Inflorescence an axillary, umbel-like cyme, solitary or clustered; male inflorescence solitary or paired, female inflorescence arranged in a short false raceme; bracts linear, tiny. Flowers unisexual; male flowers with pedicel up to 2.5 mm long, sepals 4, elliptical to obovate, 0.5–1.5 mm × 0.5–1 mm, fleshy, outer two thicker than inner two, short-hairy outside, corolla cup-shaped, 4-lobed, 0.5–1 mm in diameter, greenish, stamens 4, filaments fused; female flower with pedicel up to 3 mm long, sepals 2, orbicular to rhomboid, c. 1 mm × 1.5 mm, short-hairy outside, petals 2, elliptical to ovate, 0.5–1 mm × 0.5–1 mm, glabrous, ovary superior, striped, glabrous, 1-celled, style short, stigma u-shaped, 3-lobed. Fruit a compressed obovoid drupe up to 7 mm long, orange when mature, stone bony, horseshoe-shaped, 1-seeded. Seed with sparse endosperm and curved embryo.

''Cissampelos capensis'' can be found flowering throughout the year.

''Cissampelos'' comprises about 20 species, 7 in tropical America and 13 in tropical Africa. ''Cissampelos pareira'' L. is the only species with a pantropical distribution. ''Cissampelos capensis'' should not be confused with ''Zehneria scabra'' (L.f.) Sond. (''Cucurbitaceae''), known as ‘dawidjies’ in South Africa and also used medicinally.

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