Medicinal Plants Used in Mali for the Treatment of Malaria and Liver Diseases

Abstract

Today, ethno-pharmacology is a very important resource in order to discover new therapies for the current diseases. Moreover, another good justification for the ethno-pharmacological approach is to obtain new, effective, less expensive and simple therapies, limiting at the same time the cost of pharmaceutical research. Two major anti-malarial drugs widely used today, i.e. quinine and artemisinin, came respectively from Peruvian and Chinese ancestral treatments reported in the traditional medicines. In this contest, there is an urgent need for the discovery of new drugs, due to the critical epidemiological situation of this disease and to the growth of resistances. In Mali, malaria and liver diseases remain one of the leading public health problems. Many medicinal plants are often used, in local traditional medicine, for the treatment at the same time of malaria and liver diseases, including hepatic syndromes, jaundice, hepatitis and other hepatic disorders. Moreover, in the local language Bamanan, the word “ Sumaya” is used both for malaria and some liver diseases. In addition, we noted that some of the improved traditional phytomedicines produced by the Department of Traditional Medicine are prescribed by modern doctors both for malaria and liver diseases. In this review, pharmacological, toxicological and phytochemical data on Argemone mexicana L. (Papaveraceae), Cochlospermum tinctorium Perr. ex A. Rich (Cochlospermaceae), Combretum micranthum G.Don (Combretaceae), Entada africana Guillet Perr. (Mimosaceae), Erythrina senegalensis A. DC (Fabaceae), Mitragyna inermis (Willd) Kuntze (Rubiaceae), Nauclea latifolia Smith syn. Sarcocephalus latifolius (Smith) Bruce (Rubiaceae), Securidaca longepedunculata Fresen (Polygalaceae), Trichilia emetica Vahl. (Meliaceae), and Vernonia colorata (Willd) Drake (Asteraceae) are reported. Some of the collected data could be used to improve the actual herbal drugs and to propose new phytomedicines for the management of malaria and liver diseases.

Therapeutic Potentials of Antiviral Plants Used in Traditional African Medicine With COVID-19 in Focus: A Nigerian Perspective

“…Meanwhile, some of these reports lack quality and will require validation. Bioactive compounds identified in the plants include; for V. amygdalina - vernolide (116), vernodalin (117), hydroxyvernolide (120) and vernodalol (123), vernoniosides B1-B3 and vernoniosides A1-A4 (124) ; for N. pobeguinii - strictosamide (138), 19-O-methylangustoline, angustoline (139) , A. Mexicana - berberine (140), tetrahydroberberine, protopine (141), benzophenanthridines, 8-acetonyl dihydrosanguiranine, 8-methoxy dihydrosanguiranine (142) , pancorine (144) , O-methylzanthoxyline (145) , nor-chelerythrine (125) , arnottianamide (146) cryptopine (147) , muramine (148) , argemexicaine A, argemexicaine B (149) ; for A. annua - artemisinin (157) ; C. aurantiifolia - apigenin (156) and Morinda lucida - Morindin (154), oruwal (152), oruwalol (155), oruwacin (150), molucidin (151), Damnacanthal (153), Ursolic acid (17), polypeptides ( Kraft et al, 2003 ; Challand and Willcox, 2009 ; Brahmachari et al, 2013 ; Haidara et al, 2016 ; Haudecoeur et al, 2018 ; Divneet Kaur, 2019 ). Overwhelming evidence supports the standardization of the leaf and seed of M. oleifera for a possible clinical application [ Level III ] as it has demonstrated broad range of antiviral activity in various studies ( Biswas D. et al, 2020 ) while the disulphide-stabilized miniproteins (Morintides), lectins, hevein-like peptides, protein hydrolysates and glucosinolates/isothiocynates isolated from the plant have shown impressive effects, including as antiadhesives, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and immunomodulatory compounds ( Kini et al, 2017 ; Moura et al, 2017 ; Coriolano et al, 2018 ; Fahey et al, 2019 ; Liang et al, 2019 ; Sousa et al, 2020 ).…”

Evaluation of the biological activities of leaf and bark extracts of Ficus platiphylla Delile, a medicinal plant used in Mali

“…There is therefore a great need to find alternative sources of bioactive chemicals, in particular of plant origin which can readily be used though undergoing an extensible manufacturing process (Biyiti et al, 2004). In recent years, many plants have been investigated as alternative sources of bioactive drugs and in particular antimicrobial agents (Sanogo, 2014;Haidara et al, 2016;Akhtar et al, 2018;Bagayoko et al, 2018;Haidara, 2018;Keita et al, 2018;Mihin et al, 2019). Traditional plant-based medicine remains the first option for treatment in low-income countries.…”

“…These discoveries could yield to unknown bioactive molecules that could be useful for the treatment of diseases and the standardisation of therapeutic compositions (Haidara, 2018). In Mali, the National Institute of Research in Public Health (INRSP) through its Department of Traditional Medicine (DMT), a structure specializing in the exploration and development of phytomedicines, has carried out numerous studies to this end (Diallo et al, 2003;Willcox et al, 2007;Togola et al, 2008;Sanogo et al, 2012;Sanogo et al, 2014;Haidara et al, 2016;Traoré et al, 2019;Denou et al, 2019). However, many other plant species commonly used by local populations have not yet been explored.…”

Nigerian Medicinal Plants for the Management of Liver Diseases: A Review

“…There is reported use of Nigerian medicinal plants in herbal preparations for the prevention and management of various liver disorders [16]. Moreover, the use of several traditional plant-based therapies among certain ethnic groups and indigenous people in the management of diseases including liver disease has been amply reported worldwide [17,18,19,20,21].…”