A systematic review of antimalarial medicinal plants in Democratic Republic of the Congo

In Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is one of the country's major public health issues and responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people every year in both rural and urban environments. Antimalarial drugs are commonly used but some recorded cases of drug resistance are a major obstacle to controlling the spread of malaria. It is therefore essential to identify new bioactive molecules as an alternative. Many medicinal plants with different properties have been used as treatments for a variety of diseases in the DRC, including malaria. This study provides a systematic review of antimalarial plant resources in the DRC. From 28 papers on ethnomedicine published between 2001 and 2019, a total of 232 plant species belonging to 67 different plant families and identified in 13 provinces was reported in the treatment of malaria. A large number of these plant species belong to the Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Apocyanaceae families. Species cited in more than three provinces include Cymbopogon citratus, Vernonia amygdalina, Rauvolfia vomitoria and Catharanthus roseus. Most of the species identified as antimalarial plants were tree species, with phanerophytes predominating. In addition, leaves were identified as the main ingredients for preparing remedies, most commonly by decoction administered orally.

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The changing epidemiology of human monkeypox - a potential threat? A systematic review

10.1101/2021.12.21.21268202 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eveline Bunge ◽

Bernard Hoet ◽

Liddy Chen ◽

Florian Lienert ◽

Heinz Weidenthaler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Case Fatality ◽

West African ◽

Smallpox Vaccination ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Republic Of The Congo

Monkeypox, a zoonotic disease caused by an orthopoxvirus, results in a smallpox-like disease in humans. Since monkeypox in humans was initially diagnosed in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it has spread to other regions of Africa (primarily West and Central), and cases outside Africa have emerged in recent years. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature on how monkeypox epidemiology has evolved, with particular emphasis on the number of confirmed, probable, and/or possible cases, age at presentation, mortality, and geographical spread. The review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020208269). We identified 48 peer-reviewed articles and 18 grey literature sources for data extraction. The number of human monkeypox cases has been on the rise since the 1970s, with the most dramatic increases occurring in the DRC. The median age at presentation has increased from 4 (1970s) to 21 years (2010-2019). There was an overall case fatality rate of 8.7%, with a significant difference between clades - Central African 10.6% (95% CI: 8.4% - 13.3%) vs. West African 3.6% (95% CI: 1.7% - 6.8%). Since 2003, import- and travel-related spread outside of Africa has occasionally resulted in outbreaks. Interactions/activities with infected animals or individuals are risk behaviors associated with acquiring monkeypox. Our review shows an escalation of monkeypox cases, especially in the highly endemic DRC, a spread to other countries, and a growing median age from young children to young adults. These findings may be related to the cessation of smallpox vaccination, which provided some cross-protection against monkeypox, leading to increased human-to-human transmission. The appearance of outbreaks beyond Africa highlights the global relevance of the disease. Increased surveillance and detection of monkeypox cases are essential tools for understanding the continuously changing epidemiology of this resurging disease.

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Quantitative Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Knowledge on Medicinal Plants Used by the Tribal Communities of Gokand Valley, District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9081001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 1001 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sulaiman ◽

Sikandar Shah ◽

Sheharyar Khan ◽

Rainer W. Bussmann ◽

Maroof Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Plant Species ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Ethnobotanical Study ◽

Acorus Calamus ◽

Convolvulus Arvensis ◽

Importance Value ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Morchella Esculenta

The current study on the traditional use of medicinal plants was carried out from February 2018 to March 2020, in Gokand Valley, District Buner, Pakistan. The goal was to collect, interpret, and evaluate data on the application of medicinal plants. Along with comprehensive notes on individual plants species, we calculated Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Report (UR), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (FCI), as well as Family Importance Value (FIV). During the current study, a total of 109 species belonging to 64 families were reported to be used in the treatment of various ailments. It included three families (four species) of Pteridophytes, 58 families (99 species) of angiosperm, one family (three species) of Gymnosperms, and two families (three species) of fungi. The article highlights the significance of domestic consumption of plant resources to treat human ailments. The UV varied from 0.2 (Acorus calamus L.) to 0.89 (Acacia modesta Wall.). The RFC ranged from 0.059 (Acorus calamus L. and Convolvulus arvensis L.) to 0.285 (Acacia modesta Wall.). The species with 100% FL were Acacia modesta Wall. and the fungus Morchella esculenta Fr., while the FCI was documented from 0 to 0.45 for gastro-intestinal disorders. The conservation ranks of the medicinal plant species revealed that 28 plant species were vulnerable, followed by rare (25 spp.), infrequent (17 spp.), dominant (16 spp.), and 10 species endangered. The traditional use of plants needs conservation strategies and further investigation for better utilization of natural resources.

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Individual and household characteristics of persons with Plasmodium falciparum malaria in sites with varying endemicities in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Malaria Journal ◽

10.1186/s12936-017-2110-7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Melchior Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa ◽

Lauren Levitz ◽

Kyaw L. Thwai ◽

Jonathan B. Parr ◽

Varun Goel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plasmodium Falciparum ◽

Falciparum Malaria ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria ◽

Household Characteristics ◽

Republic Of The Congo

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Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature

Malaria Journal ◽

10.1186/s12936-021-03866-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elahe Tajbakhsh ◽

Tebit Emmanuel Kwenti ◽

Parya Kheyri ◽

Saeed Nezaratizade ◽

David S. Lindsay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Medicinal Plants ◽

Plant Species ◽

Azadirachta Indica ◽

Antiplasmodial Activity ◽

Research Articles ◽

Moderate Activity ◽

Maytenus Senegalensis

Abstract Background Malaria still constitutes a major public health menace, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Close to half a million people mainly children in Africa, die every year from the disease. With the rising resistance to frontline drugs (artemisinin-based combinations), there is a need to accelerate the discovery and development of newer anti-malarial drugs. A systematic review was conducted to identify the African medicinal plants with significant antiplasmodial and/or anti-malarial activity, toxicity, as wells as assessing the variation in their activity between study designs (in vitro and in vivo). Methods Key health-related databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Science Direct were searched for relevant literature on the antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activities of African medicinal plants. Results In total, 200 research articles were identified, a majority of which were studies conducted in Nigeria. The selected research articles constituted 722 independent experiments evaluating 502 plant species. Of the 722 studies, 81.9%, 12.4%, and 5.5% were in vitro, in vivo, and combined in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The most frequently investigated plant species were Azadirachta indica, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, Picrilima nitida, and Nauclea latifolia meanwhile Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Annonaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Meliaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most frequently investigated plant families. Overall, 248 (34.3%), 241 (33.4%), and 233 (32.3%) of the studies reported very good, good, and moderate activity, respectively. Alchornea cordifolia, Flueggea virosa, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, and Maytenus senegalensis gave consistently very good activity across the different studies. In all, only 31 (4.3%) of studies involved pure compounds and these had significantly (p = 0.044) higher antiplasmodial activity relative to crude extracts. Out of the 198 plant species tested for toxicity, 52 (26.3%) demonstrated some degree of toxicity, with toxicity most frequently reported with Azadirachta indica and Vernonia amygdalina. These species were equally the most frequently inactive plants reported. The leaves were the most frequently reported toxic part of plants used. Furthermore, toxicity was observed to decrease with increasing antiplasmodial activity. Conclusions Although there are many indigenous plants with considerable antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activity, the progress in the development of new anti-malarial drugs from African medicinal plants is still slothful, with only one clinical trial with Cochlospermum planchonii (Bixaceae) conducted to date. There is, therefore, the need to scale up anti-malarial drug discovery in the African region.

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Medicinal plants used Against Typhoid Fever and Toothache in Pir-Panchal Range of the Shopian District of Kashmir Himalaya.

Journal of Phytology ◽

10.19071/jp.2017.v9.3171 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Sumer Singh ◽

Zakir Hussain Khanday

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Typhoid Fever ◽

Plant Species ◽

Kashmir Himalaya ◽

Plant Resources ◽

The People ◽

Future Reference

<p> </p><p>The present study was undertaken with a view to explore the possibilities of utilizing the plant resources of the district Shopian. A total of plant / specimens along with detailed information and their uses would serve as a valuable record for future reference & study. Most of these plants are wild and some plants are cultivated. The present study reveals that 22 medicinal plants belonging to 14-families are being used for Typhoid fever & Toothache in the Shopian district of Kashmir Himalaya. Of these 22 medicinal plants, 5 plant species are used both for fever and toothache. These medicinal plants have been arranged alphabetically. Despite extensive use of medicinal plants by the people of this region, extensive work has not been done as yet on ethnomedicinal& other aspects. The present study is an attempt to generate interest among the society regarding the potential of natural alternatives in preventing Typhoid fever and Tooth diseases in the study area. </p>

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Use of Medicinal Plants in Eastern Part of Pokhara, Nepal

ZOO-Journal ◽

10.3126/zooj.v5i0.34932 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 79-81

Author(s):

Bishnu P Parajuli ◽

Shubash C Bastola

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Medicinal Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Ethnic Community ◽

Medicinal Plant Species ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Pokhara Valley ◽

Different Parts

From the beginning of civilization, man's relationship with the surrounding plant resources has always been very intimate. This study provides information to the general people to protect such medicinal plants. Kumal ethnic community mainly lives in Thulo-Kumal Gaun and scattered in different parts of Pokhara valley such as Dhungepatan, Bhandardik and Patneri. Altogether 20 medicinal plant species were identified.

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Ethiopian medicinal plants used for their anti-inflammatory, wound healing or anti-infective activities: protocol for systematic literature review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open Science ◽

10.1136/bmjos-2020-100064 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e100064

Author(s):

Dereje Nigussie ◽

Belete Adefris Legesse ◽

Gail Davey ◽

Abebaw Fekadu ◽

Eyasu Makonnen

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Wound Healing ◽

Medicinal Plants ◽

Literature Review ◽

Plant Species ◽

Systematic Literature Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Registration Number ◽

Anti Inflammatory

ObjectivesMedicinal plants are used globally as alternative medicines in the management of a range of disease conditions and are widely accepted across differing societies. Ethiopia hosts a large number of plant species (>7000 higher plant species), of which around 12% are thought to be endemic, making it a rich source of plant extracts potentially useful for human health. The aim of this review is to evaluate Ethiopian medicinal plants for their anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antifungal or antibacterial activities.Methods and analysisThe guidance of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement will be used. This review will consider all controlled studies of anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties (both in vivo and in vitro) and in vitro anti-infective properties of medicinal plants found in Ethiopia. Data sources will be EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar. Guidance documents on good in vitro methods and checklists for reporting in vitro studies will be used for quality assessment of in vitro studies. The risk of bias tool for animal intervention studies (the SYRCLE RoB tool) will be used to assess the validity of studies. The main outcomes will be percent inhibition of inflammation, time of epithelisation and tissue tensile strength in wounds and microbial growth inhibition.Ethics and disseminationThe findings of this systematic review will be disseminated by publishing in a peer-reviewed journal and via conference presentations. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Research Governance & Ethics Committee (RGEC) and Addis Ababa University, College of Health Science, Institutional Review Board.PROSPERO registration numberThis systematic literature review has been registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42019127471).

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