Medicinal Plants Used for the Management of Rabies in Ethiopia – A Review

Abstract

Background: Rabies is a deadly zoonotic viral disease. It is a major public-health problem which presents huge economic and health burdens in most parts of the developing world. The disease is difficult to treat once the clinical manifestations start to develop; the vaccines produced in mammalian neural tissues have the disadvantage of causing severe adverse reactions. This leads to the practice of traditional medicine for the control of rabies in most parts of Ethiopia for many years. Objective: The aim of this review is to give an insight into some of the most commonly used folkloric plants and their method of preparation for the management of rabies. Methods: Data for this review were generated from the published research findings on Ethiopian traditional medicinal plants on indifferent peer reviewed journals and proceedings using search words, Rabies in Ethiopia, medicinal plants, Ethno botanical studies and anti-rabies activity. Descriptive analysis was conducted using excel spreadsheets and the numbers of plants species and families were reported in frequency tables and figures. Results: Results showed that a total of 199 plant species belonging to 47 families were used for the management of rabies. The most commonly used families were ephorbiacea stood first, followed by phytolaceae, cucurbitaceae, acanthracea, fabaceae and solianaceae. Phytolacadodecandra, Justicaschimperiana, Recinuscommunis, Brucea antidysenterica, Croton macrostachyus and Cucumis ficifolius were the most cited medicinal plant species utilized for the management of rabies. The most widely used plant part for the preparations of remedy were roots followed by leaves, used in solution form by using water as a most cited solvent. Conclusions: This review indicated that there are many plants utilized for the management of rabies. Hence further research is recommended for ascertaining the efficacy, safety and quality of the claimed medicinal plants. There is also recommended to strengthen the documentation of the indigenous knowledge which contributes for the drug development used for the management of rabies.