An ethnobotanical study of antimalarial plants in Togo Maritime Region.

BACKGROUND: Malaria continues to be of great concern in Togo, as it accounts for high mortality rates, principally in children. Although plant-based medicines are the only means in major malarious regions of the country, still very little is known about the medicinal plants and medical practices of the indigenous people. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to document the indigenous medicinal plant utilization for the management of malaria and related symptoms in Togo Maritime Region. METHODOLOGY: Fifty Traditional Healers (TH) were selected with the help leaders of Togolese Traditional Healers Associations and information on their knowledge on the use of plants for malaria therapeutic purposes was gathered using a semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: After enquiries, 52 plant species belonging to 49 genera and 29 families were recorded. The most represented families were Rubiaceae and Rutaceae with four species each. Traditional healers agreed more in the treatment of malaria (ICF=0.70), fever (ICF=0.33) and anemia (ICF=0.20). For the treatment of malaria, 38.46% (20/52) of the species cited in the study were of high fidelity level (FL=100%). The leaves (58.22%), leafy stem (33.78%) and fruits (8.52%) were the most used parts in concoctions. The main mode of preparation was decoction (69%) and the administration was essentially by oral route (79%) and body-bath (14%). CONCLUSION: The issue of the study showed that Togo Maritime Region TH have a good knowledge of antimalarial plants. However the study must be extend to the whole country to lead to innovative strategies in malaria control. Such results could be a starting point for in vitro antimalarial screenings.

Reproductive capacities and development of a seed Bruchid beetle, Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus, a potential host for the mass rearing of the parasitoid, Dinarmus basalis.

The reproductive capacities and development of the seed beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus (Schaeffer) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), found in Togo, were determined under natural conditions in a Guinean zone for its use as a substitute host for the mass rearing of the parasitoid Dinarmus basalts Rond (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a biological agent for the control of beetles that are pests of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walpers (Fabales: Fabaceae). Population dynamics at the field level; and survival, fecundity and offspring production by A. macrophthalmus under laboratory conditions were measured when fed on its natural plant-host Leucaena leucocephala (Lamark) deWit (Fabales: Mimosaceae). The data resulting from the laboratory study were used to calculate the demographic parameters of A. macrophthalmus by establishing its fertility and life tables. Contrary to cultivated leguminous food plants, L. leucocephala is a perennial sub-spontaneous leguminous plant whose pods are available year round. Although A. macrophthalmus was present in nature throughout the year, its infestation rate of the pods fluctuated according to the phenology of the plant. The maximum infestation of L. leucocephala pods was observed between August and December. Four larval stages and one pupal stage of A. macrophthalmus were identified in the laboratory. The total mean development time varied on average 33.75 ± 2.87 days on the mature pods and 33.39 ± 2.02 days on seeds. The adult female lived from one to two weeks. During its life time, the female laid an average of 62.3 ± 19 and 43.1 ± 13 eggs on the mature pods and seeds respectively and produced an average of 36.7 ± 11.3 offspring on the mature pods and 21.8 ± 8.4 offspring on seeds. On seeds, the net reproduction rate was 5.88 females per female and the intrinsic rate of population increase 0.051 per day. The generation time was 34.59 days and the doubling time 13.59 days. The demographic parameters of A. macrophthalmus in this study are close to those of Callobruchus maculatus F. (Bruchidae), the natural host of D. basalts in a previous study. A. macrophthalmus could therefore be used as substitute host for the mass rearing of D. basalts and subsequently its release in farmers' storage containers. The data presented in this study provide some baseline information regarding the reproductive capacities of A. macrophthalmus that may be useful for its promotion as a substitute host for mass rearing of D. basalts.

Life history of flight morph females of Callosobruchus maculatus F.: evidence of a reproductive diapause.

Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera : Bruchidae) is a tropical beetle that develops in the seeds of Vigna unguiculata. C. maculatus adults show an imaginal polymorphism with differences in morphological, behavioral and reproductive characteristics. Adults of the flight morph that emerge in cowpea storage systems were studied under natural climatic conditions. A large number of the flight morph females were in reproductive diapause and had a long imaginal life. These females did not synthesize vitellogenin, produced a specific diapause protein and possessed significant protein reserves. This suggests that the beetles survived in the tropical ecosystem for a long time and colonized the crops during the cowpea growing and flowering phases. Analysis of reproductive activity in females captured in the V. unguiculata crops indicates that they terminated their reproductive diapause and began to lay eggs as soon as the pods were formed. Few females of the flight morph were sexually active at the beginning of imaginal life. In this paper we discuss the adaptive significance of these two reproductive strategies in females of C. maculatus.