African Flora as Potential Sources of Medicinal Plants : Towards the Chemotherapy of Major Parasitic and Other Infectious Diseases : A Review

Abstract

Parasitic diseases, especially those defined as neglected diseases by the WHO, remain a major public health predicament, which affects hundreds of millions of people especially in developing countries. Furthermore, infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia, leishmania and human African trypanosomiasis are responsible for one in two deaths in developing countries, where poverty, limited access to health care, drug resistance and a changing environment make populations particularly vulnerable. As a consequence, herbal medicines have attracted much attention as potential therapeutic agents in the prevention and/or management of parasitic and infectious diseases, as they can yield potential leads to address emerging infections and resistance. Indeed, the use of medicinal plants in the treatment and management of human and animal diseases has long been practiced before the advent of chemotherapy. The present review has endeavoured to provide an overview of the potential of medicinal plants, particularly, those from the African biodiversity to target three common parasitic and infectious diseases, namely malaria, leishmania and human African trypanosomiasis that have plagued humans since time immemorial.