Abstract
The use of Grewia tenax and Albizia anthelmintica in treating different ailments is attracting significant attention as a primary health care option in Namibia. This study aims to document their ethnobotanical uses, phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumonia, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Staphylococcus aureus. The ethnobotanical uses of G. tenax and A. anthelmintica in treating respiratory conditions were documented. Organic (ethyl acetate) and aqueous extracts were screened for phytochemical composition using the thin-layer chromatography method. The total phenol content was determined using the Folin and Ciocalteu reagent method. In vitro antioxidant activity was based on the scavenging activity of the stable 1, 1-diphenyl 2-picrylhyorazyl free radical. Antibacterial activity of extracts (200.0 µg/ml) and antibiotics was determined by the disc diffusion method. G. tenax and A. anthelmintica are commonly used to treat pneumonic symptoms. Steam inhalation and decoction are the most common methods used in preparing remedies. While alkaloid, flavonoid, and coumarins were detected in all extracts, organic extract of A. anthelmintica showed higher total phenol content of 28.5 ± 0. 5 mg GAE/g. G. tenax organic extract showed higher in-vitro antioxidant activity of 83.3±0.1%. The pathogens showed resistance to 10 µg of penicillin G, and Co-Trimoxazol, however, A. anthelmintica organic twig extracts inhibited the growth of the bacteria with average inhibition ranging between 17.5±0.6 - 20.7±0.6, mm and a minimum inhibitory concentration of 50.0 µg/mL. These findings are the first to report on the ethnomedicine of G. tenax and A. anthelmintica in Namibia and their effectiveness in killing pneumonia-causing bacteria. Key words: Phytochemical screening, total phenol content, antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, pneumonia, antibiotic resistance, G. tenax, A. anthelmintica.
Highlights
Pneumonia is a common lower respiratory tract infection that affects the alveoli of the lungs
Ethnomedicinal uses of A. anthelmintica and G. tenax in Northern Namibia
A. anthelmintica and G. tenax are mostly used as traditional remedies to treat respiratory pneumonia as well as fever, cough, breathing difficulties, fatigue, and flu that are associated with pneumonia and other respiratory conditions
Summary
Pneumonia is a common lower respiratory tract infection that affects the alveoli of the lungs. Bacterial pneumonia include Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureu (Khan et al, 2015) These bacteria use different mechanisms to initiate pneumonia. An 81% mortality rate due to pneumonia has been reported in children under 2 years old globally (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Pneumonia is single-handedly responsible for 16% of global deaths of children under the age of five, with a significantly greater share in Africa (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Lower respiratory ailments including pneumonia were ranked third amongst the top ten causes of death in Namibia in 2012 with a mortality rate of 5%, moving up to being ranked the second highest cause of death in Namibia in 2017 (Henriques-Normark and Tuomanen, 2013; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). S. pneumonia, K. pneumonia, and S. aureus have been reported to be resistant to many antibiotics including vancomycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, bacitracin, penicillin G, amoxicillin, oxacillin, methicillin, streptomycin, and gentamicin globally (Ullah et al, 2016; Ahmed et al, 2018)
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