Plantes et prise en charge de la santé maternelle dans la région Maritime du Togo / Plants and mother's healthcare in the Maritime Region of Togo

Contexte et objectifs. La santé maternelle demeure un problème de santé majeur dans les pays en voie de développement. La présente étude a : (i) inventorié les divers maux bénins de la santé maternelle ; (ii) recensé les plantes utilisées dans la prise en charge de ces troubles ; (iii) décrit les diverses formes d'usages des plantes utilisées et (iv) évalué la variation des connaissances d'usages suivant le sexe, l'âge et l'ethnie. Méthodes. Des enquêtes ethnobotaniques couplées aux observations de terrain ont été réalisées dans la région Maritime du Togo en milieu rural auprès des populations rurales. L'analyse des données s'est basée sur les fréquences (Fr), les valeurs d'usages (VU), les indices de diversité d'usage (IDU), les indices de valeurs d'importance d'usage (IVIU) et l'indice de Sorenson (IS). Résultats. Une florule de 127 espèces végétales dont 126 plantes réparties en 112 genres et 57 familles et un champignon a été rapportée. Les Euphorbiaceae, les Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae, les Asteraceae et les Leguminosae-Papilionoideae sont les familles les plus signalées dans la prise en charge de 37 affections. Conclusion. A l'issue de cette étude, plus d'une centaine de plantes utilisées dans les pathologies maternales et foetales a été identifiée. Cependant, l'évaluation de l'efficacité ainsi que des tests toxicologiques sont nécessaires pour une meilleure valorisation des plantes rapportées

Context and objectives. Maternal healthcare remain a major health problem in developing countries. The present study (i) inventoried various benign conditions of maternal health, (ii) identified plant species used in the management of these conditions, (iii) described the various types of use of these plants, and (iv) evaluated the levels of knowledge on the use of plant species in the care of the pregnant and nursing women according to the gender, age and ethnic group. Methods. Semi-structured interviews coupled to field observations were carried out in the Maritime region of Togo among local populations. Data analysis was based on the computation of relative frequencies (Fr), the use values (UV), the diversity use index (DUI), the index of important use values (IIUV) and the Sorenson index (SI). Résultats. A flower of 127 plan species including 126 plants divided into 112 genera and 57 families and one fungus has been reported Euphorbiaceae, Leguminosae- Caesalpinioideae, Asteraceae and Leguminosae- Papilionoideae were mostly used in the management of 37 conditions. Conclusion. This study identified more than one hundred plants species used in women's health-related disorders. Additional studies, including efficacy and toxicological tests are needed for better to promote these folk medicine practices

THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF LEAVES OF HOLARRHENA FLORIBUNDA (G. DON) DUR. AND SCHINZ (APOCYNACEAE).

BACKGROUND: Holarrhena floribunda is a plant of wide usage in the Togolese folk medicine. A previous ethnobotanical survey on the latex plants of the Maritime region of the country revealed that this plant was included in several recipes curing malaria and microbial infections. Therefore, this study aimed to seek for the effectiveness of the ethanolic extract of the plant in the treatment of these diseases. METHODS: The antimicrobial test was performed using the agar well-diffusion and the NCCLS broth microdilution methods, while the in vivo antimalarial activity was evaluated following the four-day suppressive test of Peters. The acute toxic effects of the extract were monitored after a single oral dose (5,000 mg/kg body weight) administration in NMRI mice. RESULTS: The results indicated that the ethanolic extract of leaves of H. floribunda was active on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 and clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumoniae with MICs ranging from 0.62 to 1.25 mg/mL. The extract also showed significant parasitaemia suppression in a dose-dependent manner. In the acute toxicity assay, the oral administration of the extract to the mice did not affect the relative weight of vital organs, and there were no signs of toxicity or death during the study period. The LD50 of the tested extract was found to be greater than 5,000 mg/kg, indicating its safety. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the antibacterial and antimalarial activities of leaves of H. floribunda and then, supports its medicinal use in the treatment of microbial infections.

Ethnobotanical Study of Latex Plants in the Maritime Region of Togo.

BACKGROUND: In Togo, a little is known about latex plants of the flora used for medicinal purposes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the latex plant species and their medicinal uses in the Maritime Region of Togo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methodology was based on ethnobotanical semi-structural individual interviews of 220 informants. Quantitative ethnobotanical index was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 33 latex plants species were recorded, from 12 botanical families and 24 genera. The most represented families were Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae with eight species each. The relative importance (RI) value of each species and the informant consensus factor (ICF) of the ailments categories showed that Pergularia daemia (Forssk.) Chiov. (RI = 2.00) and Euphorbia hirta L. (RI = 1.91) were the most versatile in relation to their uses, and infectious diseases (ICF = 0.922) were the category with the greatest consensus among 17 categories. CONCLUSION: These latex plants of Togolese flora are variously used in traditional medicine and it would be important to undertake further investigations in phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology to validate their uses. Abbreviations Used: UV: use value ICF: informant consensus factor RI: relative importance PP: pharmacological properties attributed to a species for a specific ailments AC: ailment categories treated by a given species.