Countrywide Survey of Plants Used for Liver Disease Management by Traditional Healers in Burkina Faso.

Liver disease is highly prevalent in Africa, especially in the western African country Burkina Faso, due to the presence of multiple biological and chemical aggressors of the liver. Furthermore, diagnosis and appropriate care for liver disease are uneven and usually insufficient. This drives local communities to turn to folk medicine based on medicinal plants from healers. Small scale, ethnopharmacological studies on reputed hepatoprotective plants have been carried out in defined regions worldwide, but so far, no study has been carried out on a countrywide scale. Therefore, we have explored traditional healers' practices in all thirteen regions of Burkina Faso. We interviewed 575 healers and we compiled a database with 2,006 plant entries. Here, we report results on liver nosology, liver pathologies, medicinal plants used for liver disease, and traditional practices through the lens of Burkinabe healers. Our goal was to give a full inventory of medicinal plants used to treat liver disease and to determine if there was consensus on the use of specific plants for specific symptoms. Analysis of the medicinal plants in use across the whole country provides local communities with a wider evidence base to determine which plants may be more effective in treating liver disease and could provide the scientific community, with a shortlist of plants suitable for chemical and pharmacological investigation to validate the plants' therapeutic role.

Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants among Dozo hunters: an ethnobotanical survey in Niamberla village, Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVES: This investigation aims to provide a database of Dozo traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used for the treatment of common diseases. DESIGN: The study was conducted through individual interviews using a survey form. Data were recorded in a database allowing statistical analysis. Each plant was recorded and documented with a herbarium specimen. Settings/Location & Subjects: The term Dozo refers to great hunters from Burkina Faso, highly renowned for their knowledge of medicinal plants. Niamberla village was founded by Dozo hunters and is currently the residence of many traditional healers. Unfortunately, their indigenous knowledge is not well recorded and may be lost between two generations. RESULTS: A total of 16 traditional healers were interviewed, giving 89 recipes for the treatment of 37 diseases. The most common diseases are malaria (13%), psychological/spiritual issues (12%), gastric disorders (11%), sexually transmitted diseases (10%), and wounds (8%). A total of 56 medicinal plants have been identified, consisting mostly of trees (44%), shrubs (34%), and herbs (16%). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research provide a basis for pharmacological and toxicological investigations and are necessary to preserve the indigenous knowledge of traditional medicine among Dozo hunters.

Study of antisickling and vasorelaxant activities and acute toxicity assessment of crude extracts of leaves of Ficus sycomorus L. (Moraceae).

The leaves of Ficus sycomorus are used in Burkina Faso folk medicine for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The present comparative study of crude extracts of leaves (decoction, macerated extract and a 95% ethanol extract) was performed with the aim to assess the efficiency of this traditional use and to determine the most active of the three extracts. Antisickling activity was assessed by the Emmel's test. Vasorelaxant effect on rat aortic rings precontracted by phenylephrine with and without N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester chloride (L-NAME) was also evaluated. The 95% ethanol extract (20 mg mL(-1)) showed the most antisickling activity on sickle erythrocytes, by inhibiting completely sickling of double heterozygote SC cells in 60 min and that of homozygote SS cells in 90 min. On the aorta this extract exhibited a significant (p<0.05) vasorelaxant activity, better than that of the other extracts, with an IC50 value of 6.86±0.13 mg mL(-1) against 18.78±0.38 and 28.56±1.27 mg mL(-1), respectively for the macerated extract and the decoction. When the aortic rings were pretreated with L-NAME, only the ethanolic extract conserved its vasorelaxant activity, up to 73% of relaxation. The acute toxicity of the decoction, assessed by intraperitoneal route and using the Litchfield and Wilcoxon method, led to an LD50 value of 1553.61 mg kg(-1) b.wt. This places the drug among those with low toxicity according to the WHO scale. These results confirm those previously obtained and provide a scientific basis supporting the use of this plant in folk medicine against sickle cell disease. They indicate the importance of Ficus sycomorus in the research of new antisickling molecules.

Pharmacological properties and related constituents of stem bark of Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Fabaceae)

OBJECTIVE@#To screen methanol and dichloromethane extracts of stem bark of Pterocarpus erinaceus for anti-inflammatory, analgesic, in vitro antioxidant activities and phytochemical analysis.@*METHODS@#Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by using carrageenan induced-edema of mice paw and croton oil-induced edema of mice ear; analgesic effect was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing. Phytochemical screening of extracts was performed by thin layer chromatography. The chromatographic fractionation led to the isolation of main active components as friedelin, lupeol and epicathechin. The structures were established by TLC and nuclear magnetic resonance studies.@*RESULTS@#Both methanol and dichloromethane extracts, friedelin, lupeol and epicatechin showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect using croton oil induced-ear edema. Furthermore, the action of dichloromethane extract was more important. At the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, the methanol extract was able to reduce the carrageenan induced-hind paw edema, while at the doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, it showed an important analgesic effect against writhing induced by acetic acid injection of 38.8%, 68.0% and 74.3%, respectively. Antioxidative properties of methanol extract and its dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions were assessed by using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method. The methanol extract showed the stronger radical scavenging activity than dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions, with an antiradical power of 5, 3.5 and 2 respectively. The main components isolated from these extracts as friedelin, lupeol and epicathechin were responsible of these activities.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results suggest that the stem bark extracts of Pterocarpus erinaceus possessed important anti-inflammatory, analgesic activities and strong antioxidant properties, therefore, they could be used as potential natural ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmacological properties and related constituents of stem bark of Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Fabaceae)

Objective To screen methanol and dichloromethane extracts of stem bark of Pterocarpus erinaceus for anti-inflammatory, analgesic, in vitro antioxidant activities and phytochemical analysis. Methods Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by using carrageenan induced-edema of mice paw and croton oil-induced edema of mice ear; analgesic effect was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing. Phytochemical screening of extracts was performed by thin layer chromatography. The chromatographic fractionation led to the isolation of main active components as friedelin, lupeol and epicathechin. The structures were established by TLC and nuclear magnetic resonance studies. Results Both methanol and dichloromethane extracts, friedelin, lupeol and epicatechin showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect using croton oil induced-ear edema. Furthermore, the action of dichloromethane extract was more important. At the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, the methanol extract was able to reduce the carrageenan induced-hind paw edema, while at the doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, it showed an important analgesic effect against writhing induced by acetic acid injection of 38.8%, 68.0% and 74.3%, respectively. Antioxidative properties of methanol extract and its dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions were assessed by using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method. The methanol extract showed the stronger radical scavenging activity than dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions, with an antiradical power of 5, 3.5 and 2 respectively. The main components isolated from these extracts as friedelin, lupeol and epicathechin were responsible of these activities. Conclusions The results suggest that the stem bark extracts of Pterocarpus erinaceus possessed important anti-inflammatory, analgesic activities and strong antioxidant properties, therefore, they could be used as natural potential ingredients for pharma ceutical industry.