Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Ethiopian Medicinal Plants: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Podoconiosis and lymphatic filariasis are the most common causes of lower limb lymphoedema in the tropics. Many sufferers experience frequent painful episodes of acute bacterial infection. Plant based traditional medicines are used to treat infections in many countries and are culturally established in Ethiopia. Ethiopian medicinal plants found to have antibacterial and antifungal activities were reviewed with the aim of increasing information about the treatment of wound infections in patients with lymphoedema.Methods: This study collates data from published articles on medicinal plants with antibacterial and antifungal activities in Ethiopia. A systematic search of Scopus, EMBASE, PUBMED/MEDLINE and Google Scholar was undertaken. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO with registration number CRD42019127471. All controlled studies of in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities were considered. All articles containing the descriptors published until June 28, 2019 were included. The outcome was measured as percent inhibition of microbial growth. For quality assessment of individual in vitro studies, OECD guidelines and the WHO-Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) handbook were used.Results: Seventy-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 150 plant species and three compounds had been tested against 42 species of bacteria, while 43 plant species had been tested against 22 species of fungus.Conclusion: Materials derived from several Ethiopian medicinal plants have been shown to have promising activity against a variety of bacteria and fungi. Those derived from Azadiractha indica A. Juss. and Lawsonia inerms L. are the most extensively studied against a wide range of gram-negative and positive bacteria, and fungal species.

Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment of Aflatoxins through Intake of Eastern Herbal Medicines Collected from Four Districts of Southern Punjab—Pakistan

“…For example, AFB 1 concentration reached a value as high as 51,192 ng/g in Tom bran, a whole meal from mixed grains, including maize and peanut [36]. This may account for the difference in our results on HM preparations, generally consisting of a mixture of medicinal plants with varying degrees of antifungal activities [69]. Akhseer Pachish and Johar Hazim Medicinal Herbal formulations were not considered for exposure assessment, as their aflatoxins concentrations were below the LOD; LB = lower bound scenario (censored numbers < LOD were given zero); UB = upper bound scenario (censored numbers <LOD were given LOD values and censored numbers <LOQ were given LOQ values); AFs = sum of AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 , AFG 2 ; NS = not studied for this age group (herbal medicine is not for consumption by that particular age group); * = average of all medicines.…”

“…In Safoof-e-Lal and Safoof-e-Mughaliz formulations, the total AFs content exceeded the most stringent MTL of 4 ng/g set by the European Pharmacopoeia [56] (Table 3). Apart from environmental parameters and agricultural practices, such variations between HM formulations may be ascribed to the conditions of preparation, packaging, and storage by herbalists, which may account for the high contamination of some medicinal plants, despite their well-documented resistance to mold growth and/or toxigenesis [63][64][65][66], owing to their ability to produce antifungal bioactive substances [67][68][69].…”

GC-MS Analysis and Antimicrobial Assessment of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels Seed Ethanol Extract

“…These plants are a repository of phytochemicals in the form of secondary metabolites, such as steroids, phenols, tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have established antimicrobial properties and could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases [17]. Innumerable studies worldwide have reported the antimicrobial potency of medicinal plants with a handful focussed on expounding the antimicrobial potency of isolated compounds [18,8,19,20,21,22,23].…”

Zanthoxylum Species: A Review of Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology in Relation to Cancer, Infectious Diseases and Sickle Cell Anemia

“…This study used a strategy similar to that reported by Nigussie et al (2021). From repositories and search engines (PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar), information related to the health benefits of Z. species, with emphasis on anticancer, antitrypanosomal, antimicrobial, antiviral, antimalarial and antisickling properties, in peer-reviewed journals and ethnobotanical surveys published from 1970-July 3, 2021 were retrieved.…”