Medicinal Plants for Mitigating Pain and Inflammatory-Related Conditions: An Appraisal of Ethnobotanical Uses and Patterns in South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, traditional medicine remains the first point of call for a significant proportion of the population seeking primary healthcare needs. This is particularly important for treating common conditions including pain and inflammation which are often associated with many disease conditions. This review focuses on the analysis of the trend and pattern of plants used for mitigating pain and inflammatory-related conditions in South African folk medicine. An extensive search was conducted using various scientific databases and popular ethnobotanical literature focusing on South African ethnobotany. Based on the systematic analysis, 38 sources were selected to generate the inventory of 495 plants from 99 families that are considered as remedies for pain and inflammatory-related conditions (e.g., headache, toothache, backache, menstrual pain, and rheumatism) among different ethnic groups in South Africa. The majority (55%) of the 38 studies were recorded in three provinces, namely, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Western Cape. In terms of the number of mentions, the most popular plants used for pain and inflammatory-related conditions in South Africa were Ricinus communis L. (10), Aloe ferox Mill. (8), Pentanisia prunelloides subsp. latifolia (Hochst.) Verdc. (8), Dodonaea viscosa Jacq var. angustifolia (L.f) Benth. (8), (L.) W.T.Aiton. (7) Ruta graveolens L. (7), and Solanum aculeastrum Dunal. (7). The top five plant families represented were Asteraceae (13%), Fabaceae (8%), Apocynaceae (4.3%), Asparagaceae (4%), and Lamiaceae (4%). An estimated 54% of the recorded plants were woody (trees and shrubs) in nature, while the leaves (27%) and roots (25%) were the most dominant plant parts. The use of plants for alleviating pain and inflammatory-related conditions remains popular in South African folk medicine. The lagging ethnobotanical information from provinces such as North West, Gauteng, and Free State remains a gap that needs to be pursued meticulously in order to have a complete country-wide database.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Local Flora Used for Medicinal Purposes among Indigenous People in Five Areas in Lagos State, Nigeria

“…Even though it is often difficult to classify diseases from ethnographic surveys [ 9 ], it is nevertheless essential to understand local attitudes about disease and the use of medicinal plants. In traditional medicine, the use of plants has been well-described for health conditions such as metabolic-related diseases [ 51 , 52 ], malaria [ 53 ], respiratory conditions [ 54 ], pains and inflammations [ 55 , 56 ]. In this study, the health conditions were grouped into 14 categories and ICF values ranged from 0.88–0.95 ( Table 2 ).…”

The Fight against Infection and Pain: Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) a Rich Source of Anti-Inflammatory Activity: 2011–2022

“…Chronic diseases are ranked as some of the biggest risks to human health [ 16 , 17 ]. Pain associated with inflammation is a common signal in response to tissue injury [ 18 , 19 ]. Moreover, this has attracted significant attention as a leading cause of global health challenges [ 20 ].…”

“…For many years, ethnobotanical practices of native South Africans have become an integral part of the country’s healthcare system with an uninterrupted historic use [ 19 ]. In such a developing country, the majority of the population utilizes medicinal plants for their primary healthcare needs, thus reducing the overwhelmed, high-cost modern healthcare system.…”

Anti-Nociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Ethyl Acetate Extract of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) Redouté in Raw 264.7 Cells in vitro and Mouse Model in vivo

“…Medicinal plants, in particular, traditional Chinese medicine and folk medicinal herbs with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities, are an ongoing research hotspot due to their reliable curative effects, fewer adverse reactions, and extensive use over thousands of years of clinical practice. 1 , 2 Belamcanda chinensis (L.) is a large perennial herb (family Iridaceae) 60–120 cm in height, which is native to several countries in South-East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). 3–5 The herb has also been naturalized as an ornamental garden plant in some areas of Europe and North America.…”

“…Medicinal herbs for the treatment of pain and inflammation-associated diseases have a history of long-term usage in humans and animals. 1 The considerable potential of natural products for inflammation and pain disorders is widely documented. 16–18 Development and analysis of plant-derived analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs is therefore a research area of significant clinical value.…”