Abstract
Most of the inhabitants of South Benin use medicinal plants to treat various pathologies. Several research studies have cited <i>Vernonia amygdalina</i> as a hepatoprotective medicinal plant. The objective of this work is to list the medicinal plants made available to the population to treat liver diseases by herbalists and to verify their level of knowledge in relation to the use of <i>Vernonia amygdalina</i>. The methodology consists of conducting a semi-structured survey of herbalists in markets, on sites where medicinal plants are sold and in households. This methodology allowed us to identify 38 species of medicinal plants belonging to 20 families. The best represented species is <i>Bridelia ferruginea</i> (10) of the family Euphobiaceae. The Rubiaceae family is the most represented (16). The organ of the plant most frequently used in recipes is the root (47). Five hundred and fifty-two households (552) responded to our questions. 64% use the leaves of <i>Vernonia amygdalina</i> for nutrition against 36% for therapeutic use. 68% are supplied from distant fields, 13% from urban areas and 19% from market gardening sites. 35% say they have no information about its use in phytotherapy, 21% use it for intestinal ailments, 18% for the treatment of malaria, 13% for oral diseases, 12% for other pathologies. The frequency of use (four times a week) is best represented for nutrition and phytotherapy. In conclusion, <i>Vernonia amygdalina</i> is very little known in phytotherapy despite the various researches carried out on this plant. Researchers must promote medicinal plants that are very easy to grow in order to limit the offer to users of rare plants in danger of extinction.
Highlights
Liver disease is a public health problem in Benin today
The organ harvested is the root. [17] showed that the leaves of Bridelia ferruginea are hepatoprotectors in second position after the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina. During his survey on the use and effect of herbal medicines in patients suffering from liver diseases hospitalized at the Department of Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology of the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Cocody in Côte d'Ivoire [16] showed that the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina are cited among the most widely used medicinal plants. [18] conducted a census of medicinal plants that fight liver diseases across Africa
Cochlospermum tintorium of the family Cochlospermaceae; Entada africana of the family Mimosaceae; Combretum micranthum of the family Combretaceae were cited in the work of [19] as medicinal plants used in the traditional treatment of hepatitis B in Mali. [20, 21] showed that Desmodium adscendens of the Fabaceae family, Phyllanthus amarus of the Euphorbiaceae family have anti-hepatotoxic activities
Summary
Liver disease is a public health problem in Benin today. Hepatitis B virus and chronic alcoholism are the primary cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [1]. Chronic exposures to drugs and toxic products go unnoticed among the causes of hepatitis. Many scientific studies have shown that several drugs and toxic products induce hepatitis [2, 3]. In Benin, traditional therapists and herbalists are the first people to receive the disease in most cases [4]. The latter provide the patient with a number of medicinal plants to address their health problem [5, 6]. The recipes made available to patients are multiple and vary from one Adjouavi Yvette Deguenon et al.: Ethnobotanical Research on the Knowledge of Vernonia amygdalina
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