Ethnopharmacological Properties of African Medicinal Plants for the Treatment of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Document Type : Review

Authors

1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Veterinary School, Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, Kuku Campus, Khartoum, Sudan.

2 Department of Research and Development, Huvet Corporation, Iksan, Korea.

3 Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Specialized Campus, Iksan, Korea.

4 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria.

5 Nutritional Biochemistry/Toxicology Unit, World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence, Centre for Public Health and Toxicological Research (PUTOR), University of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Agriculture is considered the primary source of income and livelihood in Africa. It is rational for people to look around their environment for food and medicine. The African legacy regarding the traditional use of medicinal plants is vast and diverse, due to cultural myths and economic logic. This review briefly defines the neglected tropical diseases and surveys African medicinal plants used for neglected tropical diseases. In Africa, people may share several plants for similar diseases, e.g., Nicotiana tabacum L. and Ricinus comminus L. are used for treating Buruli ulcer infection. Folkloric African plants for the treatment of bacterial, fungal, and viral neglected tropical diseases are listed and reported in the first parts. Medicinal plants for curing parasitic neglected tropical diseases are tabulated. A plethora of medicinal plants and bioactive compounds and their preparation methods, such as macerations and boiling are reported. This report reflects the richness of Africa with medicinal plants and herbal preparations being used for the treatment of various diseases, including neglected tropical diseases. Scientific investigation of these plants has yet to be conducted to isolate the active components and determine any toxic activities. Besides, knowledge of the mechanism of action behind these beneficial effects is highly required. This review will draw the attention of pharmaceutical companies and research institutions to examine the plants presented here for further laboratory analysis and experiments. 

Keywords

Main Subjects


  • Venables A, Collier P, Conway G, Venables T. Climate change and Africa. Oxf Rev Econ Policy. 2016; 24(2): 337–353.
  • Fraikue FB. Review of historical, health benefits and uses of eggplants by humankind. Asian J Manag. 2018; 9(1): 471–474.
  • Iwu MM. Handbook of African medicinal plants. 2nd Florida: CRC Press, 2014.
  • Patel R, Rathore MK, Nagori B, Singh G, Desai PK. Common traditional practices of herbal medicine by tribal communities belonging to various ethnic groups in some states of India. Res J Pharmacog Phytochem. 2012; 4(5): 280–283.
  • Kofi-Tsekpo M. Institutionalization of African traditional medicine in health care systems in Africa. Afr J Health Sci. 2004; 11(1–2): 1–2.
  • Ozioma EO, Chinwe OA. Herbal medicines in African traditional medicine. Herb Med. 2019; 30(10): 191–214.
  • Preethi PJ. Herbal medicine for diabetes mellitus: a review. Asian J Pharm Res. 2013; 3(2): 57–70.
  • Mbele M, Hull R, Dlamini Z. African medicinal plants and their derivatives: current efforts towards potential anti-cancer drugs. Exp Mol Pathol. 2017; 103(2): 121–134.
  • Gurib-Fakim A, Kasilo OM. Promoting African medicinal plants through an African herbal pharmacopoeia. Afr Health Monit. 2010; 14: 64–67.
  • Okoro S, Kawo A, Arzai A. Phytochemical screening, antibacterial and toxicological activities of Acacia senegal Bayero J Pure Appl Sci. 2012; 5(1): 163–170.
  • Venkateshwarlu G, Santhosh A, Naik ER, Suma G, Swapna K, Pranitha D. Traditional and folklore use of Acacia nilotica (L.) in Ayurvedic system. Asian J Pharm Technol. 2014; 4(2): 98–99.
  • Abegaz B, Brendler T, Eloff JN, Gurib-Fakim A, Phillips D. 61st International congress and annual meeting of the society for medicinal plant and natural product research–ünster, Germany.
  • Atawodi S. Antioxidant potential of African medicinal plants. Afr J Biotechnol. 2005; 4(2): 128–133.
  • Sidi-Aliyu B. Common ethnomedicinal plants of the semiarid regions of West Africa: their description and phytochemicals. 1st Kano: Triumph, 2006.
  • Brinkhaus B, Lindner M, Schuppan D, Hahn E. Chemical, pharmacological and clinical profile of the East Asian medical plant. Centella Aslatica. 2000; 7(5): 427–448.
  • World Health Organization. Neglected tropical diseases. [Accessed 2022]. Available from:https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en/.
  • Sharma S, Rana M, Kumar H, Parashar B. It's era to move towards nature for getting beneficial effects of plants having antioxidant activity to fight against deleterious diseases. Asian J Pharm Res. 2013; 3(2): 103–106.
  • World Health Organization. Sustaining the drive to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases: second WHO report on neglected diseases. Geneva: WHO, 2013.
  • Ampah KA, Asare P, Binnah DD, Maccaulley S, Opare W, Roltgen K, Pluschke G, Yeboah-Manu D. Burden and historical trend of Buruli ulcer prevalence in selected communities along the Offin river of Ghana. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016; 10(4): 1–18.
  • World Health Organization. Buruli Ulcer. [Accessed 2022]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241503402
  • Johnson R, Makoutode M, Hougnihin R, Guedenon A, Ifebe D, Boko M, Portaels F. Traditional treatment for Buruli ulcer in Benin. Med Trop (Mars). 2004; 64(2): 145–150.
  • George KM, Chatterjee D, Gunawardana G, Welty D, Hayman J, Lee R, Small PL. Mycolactone: a polyketide toxin from Mycobacterium ulcerans required for virulence. 1999; 283(5403): 854–857.
  • Baron L, Paatero AO, Morel JD, Impens F, Guenin-Mace L, Saint-Auret S, Blanchard N, Dillmann R, Niang F, Pellegrini S, Taunton J, Paavilainen VO, Demangel C. Mycolactone subverts immunity by selectively blocking the Sec61 translocon. J Exp Med. 2016; 213(13): 2885–2896.
  • Rana M, Dhamija H, Prashar B, Sharma S. Ricinus communis , a review. Int J Pharm Tech Res. 2012; 4(4): 1706–1711.
  • Simbo DJ, Van den Bilcke N, Samson R. Contribution of corticular photosynthesis to bud development in African baobab (Adansonia digitata) and Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) seedlings. Environ Exp Bot. 2013; 1(95): 1–5.
  • Bauddh K, Singh K, Singh B, Singh RP. Ricinus communis: a robust plant for bio-energy and phytoremediation of toxic metals from contaminated soil. Ecol Eng. 2015; 1(84): 640–652.
  • Sandford EC, Muntz A, Craig JP. Therapeutic potential of castor oil in managing blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye. Clin Exp Optom. 2021; 104(3): 315–322.
  • Ogunniyi DS. Castor oil: a vital industrial raw material. Bioresour Technol. 2006; 97(9): 1086–1091.
  • Mutlu H, Meier MA. Castor oil as a renewable resource for the chemical industry. Eur J Lipid Sci Technol. 2010; 112(1): 10–30.
  • Ojinaka MC, Ojimelukwe PC. An assessment of the microbial and amino acid contents of ogiri produced by fermenting oil bean seeds of Ricinus communis. Am J Food Nutr. 2013; 3(3): 155–161.
  • de Melo Cazal C, Batalhão JR, de Cássia Domingues V, Bueno OC, Filho ER, Forim MR, da Silva MFGF, Vieira PC, Fernandes JB. High-speed counter-current chromatographic isolation of ricinine, an insecticide from Ricinus communis. J Chromatogr A. 2009; 1216(19): 4290–4294.
  • Sbihi HM, Nehdi IA, Mokbli S, Romdhani-Younes M, Al-Resayes SI. Hexane and ethanol extracted seed oils and leaf essential compositions from two castor plant (Ricinus communis) varieties. Ind Crops Prod. 2018; 12(2): 174–181.
  • Trébissou J, Bla K, Yapo A, Yapi H, Djaman A. Therapeutic survey on traditional treatment of Buruli ulcer in Côte d'Ivoire. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014; 4(2): 452–456.
  • Shah VV, Shah ND, Patrekar PV. Medicinal plants from Solanaceae family. Res J Pharm Technol. 2013; 6(2): 143–151.
  • Aplin PJ, Eliseo T. Ingestion of castor oil plant seeds. Med J Aust. 1997; 167(5): 260–261.
  • Agyare C, Obiri DD, Boakye YD, Osafo N. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of African medicinal plants. Medicinal plant research in Africa. 1st Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2013.
  • Tsouh Fokou PV, Nyarko AK, Appiah-Opong R, Tchokouaha Yamthe LR, Addo P, Asante IK, Boyom FF. Ethnopharmacological reports on anti-Buruli ulcer medicinal plants in three West African countries. J Ethnopharmacol. 2015; 17(2): 297–311.
  • Musanejad E, Haghpanah T, Mirzaie V, Ezzatabadipour M. Effects of ethanol and nicotine co-administration on follicular atresia and placental histo-morphology in the first-generation mice pups during intrauterine development and lactation periods. Toxicol Rep. 2021; 2(8): 793–803.
  • Ross IA. Medicinal plants of the world, volume 3. Chemical constituents, traditional and modern medicinal uses. 1st NewJersey: Humana Totowa, 2007.
  • Robineau L, Soejarto D. TRAMIL: a research project on the medicinal plant resources of the Caribbean. In: Balick MJ, Elisabetsky E, Laird SA, Eds. Medicinal resources of the tropical forest. 1st NewYork: Columbia University Press, 1996.
  • Severi JA, Lima ZP, Kushima H, Monteiro Souza Brito AR, Campaner dos Santos L, Vilegas W, Hiruma-Lima CA. Polyphenols with antiulcerogenic action from aqueous decoction of mango leaves (Mangifera indica). Molecules. 2009; 14(3): 1098–1110.
  • Marks M. Periodicity of seedling emergence in six monocotyledonous weeds of South Eastern Nigeria [dormancy, seed bank; Eragrostis gangetica, Mariscus flabelliformis, Mariscus alternifolius, Cyperus sphacelatus, Digitaria ciliaris, Cyperus cuspidatus]. Acta Oecol Oecol Appl. 1983; 4(1): 75–85.
  • Sampaio VS, Araújo ND, Agra MF. Characters of leaf epidermis in Solanum (Brevantherum clade) species from Atlantic forest of Northeastern Brazil. S Afr J Botany. 2014; 9(4): 108–113.
  • DeFilipps RA, Maina SL, Crepin J. Medicinal plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). 1St Washington: Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 2004.
  • Abdulazeez MA, Sani I. Use of fermented papaya (Carica papaya) seeds as a food condiment, and effects on pre- and post-implantation embryo development, in nuts and seeds in health and disease prevention. San Diego: Academic Press, 2011.
  • Tsouh Fokou PV, Kissi-Twum AA, Yeboah-Manu D, Appiah-Opong R, Addo P, Tchokouaha Yamthe LR, Ngoutane Mfopa A, Fekam Boyom F, Nyarko AK. In vitro activity of selected West African medicinal plants against Mycobacterium ulcerans Molecules. 2016; 21(4): 445–457.
  • Ojo DO, Omotoso OT, Obembe OM, Odetoye AA. Toxicological and histopathological effects of Cleistopholis patens root bark powder used as cowpea protectant and medicine. Sciences. 2019; 12(3): 565–571.
  • Masika P, Odeyemi O, Afolayan A. A review of the use of phytochemicals for insect pest control. Afr Plant Prot. 2008; 14(1): 1–7.
  • Yemoa A, Gbenou J, Affolabi D, Moudachirou M, Bigot A, Anagonou S, Portaels F, Quetin-Leclercq J, Martin A. Buruli ulcer: a review of in vitro tests to screen natural products for activity against Mycobacterium ulcerans. Planta Med. 2011; 77(6): 641–646.
  • Addo P, Quartey M, Abbas M, Adu-Addai B, Owusu E, Okang I, Dodoo A, De Souza D, Ankrah N, Ofori-Adjei D. In-vitro susceptibility of Mycobacterium ulcerans to herbal preparations. Internet J Trop Med. 2007; 4(2): 17–27.
  • Sharma ML, Pandey AC, Goswami N. Chemical estimation of air pollutants and its impact on the total chlorophyll contents a and b of Adhatoda vasica and Aloe vera Asian J Res Chem. 2019; 12(2): 75–78.
  • Bodimeade C, Marks M, Mabey D. Neglected tropical diseases: elimination and eradication. Clin Med. 2019; 19(2): 157–160.
  • Marks M, Solomon AW, Mabey DC. Endemic treponemal diseases. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2014; 108(10): 601–
  • Varun M, Jaggi D, D’Souza R, Paul MS, Kumar B. Abutilon indicum: a prospective weed for phytoremediation. Environ Monit Assess. 2015; 187(8): 1–9.
  • Brink M, Belay G. Plant resources of tropical Africa. Vol. 1: cereals and pulses. 1st Leiden: Backbuys, 2016.
  • Berthi W, Gonzalez A, Rios A, Blair S, Cogollo A, Pabon A. Anti-plasmodial effect of plant extracts from Picrolemma huberi and Picramnia latifolia. Malar J. 2018; 17(1): 1–12.
  • Solis PN, Ravelo AG, Gonzalez AG, Gupta MP, Phillipson JD. Bioactive anthraquinone glycosides from Picramnia antidesma fessonia. Phytochemistry. 1995; 38(2): 477–480.
  • Schiebinger L. Secret cures of slaves: people, plants, and medicine in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. 1st Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017.
  • Dey A, De JN. Pharmacology and medicobotany of anti leprotic plants: a review. 2012; 3(8): 291–298.
  • Sundar RDV, Settu S, Shankar S, Segaran G, Sathiavelu M. Potential medicinal plants to treat leprosy- a review. Res J Pharm Technol. 2018; 11(2): 813–821.
  • Nwude N, Ebong OO. Some plants used in the treatment of leprosy in Africa. Lepr Rev. 1980; 51(1): 11–18.
  • Santos FS, Souza LP, Siani AC. Chaulmoogra oil as scientific knowledge: the construction of a treatment for leprosy. Hist Cienc Saude Manguinhos. 2008; 15(1): 29–47.
  • Parascandola J. Chaulmoogra oil and the treatment of leprosy. Pharm Hist. 2003; 45(2): 47–57.
  • McCartan S, Van Staden J. Micropropagation of members of the Hyacinthaceae with medicinal and ornamental potential-a review. S Afr J Bot. 1999; 65(5–6): 361–369.
  • Mtuy TB, Burton MJ, Mwingira U, Ngondi JM, Seeley J, Lees S. Knowledge, perceptions and experiences of trachoma among Maasai in Tanzania: implications for prevention and control. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019; 13(6): 1–16.
  • Kiringe JW. A survey of traditional health remedies used by the Maasai of Southern Kaijiado District, Kenya. Ethnobot Res App. 2006; 4: 4061–4074.
  • Issa TO, Mohamed YS, Yagi S, Ahmed RH, Najeeb TM, Makhawi AM, Khider TO. Ethnobotanical investigation on medicinal plants in Algoz area (South Kordofan), Sudan. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2018; 14(1): 1–22.
  • Adedapo AA, Jimoh FO, Koduru S, Afolayan AJ, Masika PJ. Antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the methanol extracts of the leaves and stems of Calpurnia aurea. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2008; 8(1): 1–8.
  • Potroz MG, Cho NJ. Natural products for the treatment of Trachoma and Chlamydia trachomatis. 2015; 20(3): 4180–4203.
  • Ezaldeen EA, Fahal AH, Osman A. mycetoma herbal treatment: the Mycetoma Research Centre, Sudan experience. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013; 7(8): 2400–2404.
  • Elfadil H, Fahal A, Kloezen W, Ahmed EM, van de Sande W. The in vitro antifungal activity of Sudanese medicinal plants against Madurella mycetomatis, the eumycetoma major causative agent. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015; 9(3): 1–9.
  • Admasu P, Mekonnen Y, Wold GG. Rabies and its folk drugs remedies in Ethiopia: a review. Int J Basic Applied Virol. 2014; 3(2): 22–27.
  • Kadir SLA, Yaakob H, Zulkifli RM. Potential anti-dengue medicinal plants: a review. J Nat Med. 2013; 67(4): 677–689.
  • Apostol JG, Gan JVA, Raynes RJB, Sabado A, Carigma A, Santiago L, Ysrael M. Platelet-increasing effects of Euphorbia hirta (Euphorbiaceae) in ethanol-induced thrombocytopenic rat models. Int J Pharm Front. 2012; 2(2): 1–11.
  • Arollado EC. Platelet augmentation activity of selected Philippine plants. Int J Pharm Phytopharm Res. 2014; 3(2): 121–123.
  • Hotez PJ, Molyneux DH, Fenwick A, Kumaresan J, Sachs SE, Sachs JD, Savioli L. Control of neglected tropical diseases. N Engl J Med. 2007; 357(10): 1018–1027.
  • Simoben CV, Ntie-Kang F, Akone SH, Sippl W. Compounds from African medicinal plants with activities against selected parasitic diseases: schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Nat Prod Bioprospect. 2018; 8(3): 151–169.
  • Mann A, Ogbadoyi EO. Evaluation of medicinal plants from Nupeland for their in vivo antitrypanosomal activity. Am J Biochem. 2012; 2(1): 1–6.
  • Freiburghaus F, Ogwal EN, Nkunya MH, Kaminsky R, Brun R. In vitro antitrypanosomal activity of African plants used in traditional medicine in Uganda to treat sleeping sickness. Trop Med Int Health. 1996; 1(6): 765–771.
  • Bouyahya A, Et-Touys A, Dakka N, Fellah H, Abrini J, Bakri Y. Antileishmanial potential of medicinal plant extracts from the North-West of Morocco. Beni-Suef Univ J Basic Appl Sci. 2018; 7(1): 50–54.
  • Abdelgawad S, Hetta M, Ross S, Badria F. Antiprotozoal and antimicrobial activity of selected medicinal plants growing in Upper Egypt, Beni-Suef Region. World J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2015; 4(5): 1–21.
  • Mokoka T, Xolani P, Zimmermann S, Hata Y, Adams M, Kaiser M, Moodley N, Maharaj V, Koorbanally N, Hamburger M, Brun R, Fouche G. Antiprotozoal screening of 60 South African plants, and the identification of the antitrypanosomal germacranolides schkuhrin I and II. Planta Medica. 2013; 79(14): 1380–1384.
  • Et-Touys A, Bouyahya A, Fellah H, Mniouil M, Boury H, Dakka N, Sadak A, Bakri Y. Antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants from Africa: a review. Asian Pac J Trop Dis. 2017; 7(12): 7826–7840.
  • Atawodi SE, Joseph-Idrisu J, Ndidi US, Yusufu LM. Phytochemical and antitrypanosomal studies of different solvents extracts of Boswellia dalzielii. Int J Biol. 2011; 3(2): 1–6.
  • Seke Etet PF, Mahomoodally MF. New insights in staging and chemotherapy of African trypanosomiasis and possible contribution of medicinal plants. Sci World J. 2012; Article ID 343652.
  • Hotez PJ, Brindley PJ, Bethony JM, King CH, Pearce EJ, Jacobson J. Helminth infections: the great neglected tropical diseases. J Clin Investig. 2008; 118(4): 1311–1321.
  • Freeman MC, Akogun O, Belizario Jr V, Brooker SJ, Gyorkos TW, Imtiaz R, Krolewiecki A, Lee S, Matendechero SH, Pullan RL, Utzinger J. Challenges and opportunities for control and elimination of soil-transmitted helminth infection beyond 2020. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019; 13(4): 1–10.
  • Ademola IO. The potential of Nigerian bioactive plants for controlling gastrointestinal nematode infection in livestock. Anim Health Res Rev. 2016; 17(2): 85–91.
  • Koné WM, Atindehou KK, Dossahoua T, Betschart B. Anthelmintic activity of medicinal plants used in Northern Côte d'Ivoire against intestinal helminthiasis. Pharm Biol. 2005; 43(1): 72–78.
  • Waterman C, Smith RA, Pontiggia L, DerMarderosian A. Anthelmintic screening of Sub-Saharan African plants used in traditional medicine. J Ethnopharmacol. 2010; 127(3): 755–759.
  • Aremu AO, Finnie JF, Van Staden J. Potential of South African medicinal plants used as anthelmintics – their efficacy, safety concerns and reappraisal of current screening methods. S Afr J Bot. 2012; 82: 134–150.
  • Fernandes JM, Cunha LM, Azevedo EP, Lourenço EMG, Fernandes-Pedrosa MF, Zucolotto SM. Kalanchoe laciniata and Bryophyllum pinnatum: an updated review about ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. Rev Bras Farmacogn. 2019; 29(4): 529–558.
  • Igbinosa OO, Igbinosa IH, Chigor VN, Uzunuigbe OE, Oyedemi SO, Odjadjare EE, Okoh AI, Igbinosa EO. Polyphenolic contents and antioxidant potential of stem bark extracts from Jatropha curcas (Linn). Int J Mol Sci. 2011; 12(5): 2958–2971.
  • Agyare C, Spiegler V, Sarkodie H, Asase A, Liebau E, Hensel A. An ethnopharmacological survey and in vitro confirmation of the ethnopharmacological use of medicinal plants as anthelmintic remedies in the Ashanti region, in the central part of Ghana. J Ethnopharmacol. 2014; 158(1): 255–263.