Introduction. L’envenimation ophidienne constitue un problème de santé publique, social et économique dans les régions tropicales et subtropicales. Le cout onéreux des sérums antivenimeux rend le recours à ce traitement, qui reste pourtant le seul cliniquement approuvé, inaccessible à la majorité de la population dans ces pays. Pour y faire face, les habitants de ces régions ont donc souvent recours à des plantes reconnues comme médicinales par les connaissances traditionnelles. Le présent travail se propose de faire une synthèse de l’état des connaissances aussi bien traditionnelles que scientifiques sur les morsures de serpents et les plantes anti-morsure et antivenin de serpent à travers le monde. Il vise à la constitution d’une base de données des espèces de plantes utilisées pour prévenir et guérir les morsures de serpents et à la mise en évidence de potentielles futures pistes de recherche pour une valorisation de leur potentiel pharmaceutique. Littérature. La présente revue systématique a utilisé les bases de données Agora et Google Scholar comme moteurs de recherche pour recenser, à travers des critères d’inclusion et d’exclusion bien définis, toutes les études pertinentes portant sur les morsures de serpents et les plantes utilisées pour leur prévention ou traitement. Conclusions. La quasi-totalité des cas de morsures de serpents rapportées dans la littérature scientifique provient des pays chauds et/ou du Sud. Elles y constituent une maladie négligée parce qu’elles ne font pas objet de l’attention qu’elles méritent de la part des autorités et organismes en charge de la santé publique de ces pays. Cependant, 66 espèces de plantes regroupées en 31 familles sont utilisées pour prévenir la morsure des serpents et 1 127 espèces de plantes appartenant à 176 familles le sont pour le traitement des morsures de serpents dans le monde. Bien que l’efficacité de certaines de ces plantes ait été mise scientifiquement en évidence, des études pharmacologiques approfondies doivent encore être menées pour valider leur utilisation en vue de contribuer à améliorer le bien-être des communautés, et surtout les communautés rurales des pays en voie de développement.
Background Snake envenomation is a public health problem that has caused many deaths, disabilities and significant physical, psychological and socio-economic losses worldwide. In many rural communities, some plants have been utilized for preventing snake envenomation. The present study aims to document the knowledge of traditional medicine specialists on the plants used to prevent snakebites or repel snakes in Benin. A survey was conducted between January 2020 and September 2020 to this end. A total of 238 traditional healers and 56 hunters of different socio-cultural groups were interviewed using snowball sampling technique. Survey data were analyzed using Relative Citation Frequency. The diversity of antisnake bite plants was assessed using the Shannon diversity index, Piélou equitability, the Bray–Curtis similarity index and a Factorial Correspondence Analysis. Finally, qualitative phytochemical screening was performed on aqueous extracts following standard methods based on staining and/or precipitation reactions. Results A total of 74 plant species belonging to 36 families and 70 genera were identified. The most frequently encountered families were Leguminosae (27.3%), Euphorbiaceae (8.1%), Arecaceae, Asteraceae and Cucurbitaceae (4.5% each). Annona senegalensis, Securidaca longipedunculata, Piliostigma thonningii, Chenopodium ambrosioides and Cymbopogon citratus were the most cited species. The analysis of the intra-community diversity of antisnake bite plants from socio-cultural and sociolinguistic groups showed a high diversity and strong equi-representativeness of the plants used in the prevention of snakebites in Benin. Preliminary qualitative analysis of the bioactive compounds in extracts of the most cited antisnake bite plants revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponosides, mucilages, reducing compounds and triterpenoids. Conclusions In-depth pharmacological and phytochemical studies would make it possible to rationalize on the effectiveness of the identified medicinal plants as well as provide insights of the compounds responsible for their antisnake bite activity.
Background: Ophidian envenomation is a public health problem in the tropics and subtropics. Expensive cost of antivenoms forces most of the population to resort to medicinal plants as a first-line treatment. The present study aimed to contribute to a better knowledge of medicinal plants used in the treatment of snakebite envenomation in Benin.Methods: Ethnobotanical information was collected from 339 people (hunters and traditional healers) across various sociolinguistic groups using a structured interview and the snowball technique. Knowledge was quantitatively assessed using the Relative Citation Frequency. The R software (cran.rproject.org) and Microsoft Excel were used to produce graphs and/or charts.Results: A total of 109 plants species belonging to 51 botanical families were reported as being used in the treatment of snakebite envenomation. Distribution of these species by family showed that Leguminosae (20.18%), Euphorbiaceae (9.17%), Asteraceae (4.59%), Annonaceae (3.67%) were mentioned the most. The dominant life forms were herbs and shrubs collected mainly from savannas and fallows. Roots and leaves were the most used plant parts in the preparation of remedies. Conclusion:In-depth pharmacological and toxicological studies must be carried out to validate reported medicinal plants, to contribute to the wellbeing of local communities in developing countries.
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