Abstract
The rise in antimicrobial resistance increases researchers’ interest in medicinal plants used for traditional treatment of infectious diseases. The study is based on ten (10) medicinal plants mostly cited in the treatment of diarrhea in West Africa: Khaya senegalensis, Anacardium ouest L., Cassia sieberiana DC., Pterocarpus erinaceus, Diospyros mespiliformis, Ocimum gratissimum, Manihot esculenta, Vernonia amygdalina Delile, Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Daniellia oliveri. The objective is to make a review on ethnopharmacological, pharmacological, toxicological and chemical data that enhance these medicinal plants in the fight against diarrheal infections. Specific keywords were used for bibliographic research in Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and other databases. Generalities relating to diarrheal infections and scientific data on the ten selected plants in the fight against diarrheal infections were sought. From the results, it emerges that each of the ten plants has been listed as useful in the traditional treatment of diarrheal infections. Antibacterial tests showed their effectiveness on several bacterial strains responsible for bacterial infections. The chemical components identified as responsible for the activity of medicinal plants belong to the groups of saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and others. An optimal use of these medicinal plants in the fight against diarrheal infections requires deep pharmacological, chemical and toxicological studies.
Highlights
World Health Organization (WHO) defined diarrhea as “the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day”
The study is based on ten (10) medicinal plants mostly cited in the treatment of diarrhea in West Africa: Khaya senegalensis, Anacardium ouest L., Cassia sieberiana DC., Pterocarpus erinaceus, Diospyros mespiliformis, Ocimum gratissimum, Manihot esculenta, Vernonia amygdalina Delile, Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Daniellia oliveri
In “WHO guidelines for the clinical management of childhood diarrhea” [4], Antibiotics are only necessary in cases of bloody diarrhoea, suspected cholera or associated septicaemia
Summary
World Health Organization (WHO) defined diarrhea as “the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day (or more frequent passage than is normal for the individual)”. In “WHO guidelines for the clinical management of childhood diarrhea” [4], Antibiotics are only necessary in cases of bloody diarrhoea, suspected cholera or associated septicaemia. This prescription is not formally respected as there is an increase in the use of antibiotics in the treatment of diarrhoea. In a study in the Central African Republic, 40% of children before arrival and 70% during hospitalization received antibiotic treatment [2]. This situation is likely to lead to problems of antimicrobial resistance.
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