Ethnopharmacological study of plants from Pondoland used against diarrhoea

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2012-05, Vol.141 (1), p.61-71
• Main Authors: Madikizela, B., Ndhlala, A.R., Finnie, J.F., Van Staden, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkanes - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - toxicity; Anti-inflammatory; Antibacterial activity; Antidiarrheals - chemistry; Antidiarrheals - isolation & purification; Antidiarrheals - pharmacology; Antidiarrheals - toxicity; Cyclooxygenase; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors - pharmacology; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - chemistry; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - isolation & purification; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - toxicity; Diarrhoea; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - growth & development; Ethanol - chemistry; Ethnopharmacology; Ficus; Medicine, African Traditional; Methylene Chloride - chemistry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Mutagenicity; Mutagenicity Tests; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - toxicity; Plants, Medicinal; Rapanea; Salmonella; Salmonella - drug effects; Salmonella - genetics; Shigella flexneri; Shigella flexneri - drug effects; Shigella flexneri - growth & development; Solvents - chemistry; South Africa; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - growth & development; Surveys and Questionnaires; Water - chemistry
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.01.053

Most of the plant extracts exhibited better activity against COX-1 enzyme, with 53% of the plant extracts exhibiting high activity. Only 19% of the plant extracts exhibited high activity against COX-2 enzyme. Waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea are common world wide, including in Bizana, South Africa where the majority of rural dwellers depend largely on water from unprotected sources. The people from Bizana use medicinal plants as their first line of health care to cure and prevent diarrhoea. To record and document plants used for the treatment of diarrhoea in Bizana, to evaluate antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities of selected plant extracts as well as to perform genotoxicity testing of evaluated plants. An ethnobotanical approach was used to select plants used for treating diarrhoea in Bizana for pharmacological assays using questionnaires. Nine plants were selected for bioassays based on their frequency index and the fact that they have never been evaluated against diarrhoea causing-microorganisms. The petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), 70% ethanol (EtOH), and water extracts were evaluated for antibacterial (Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri) activity using the microdilution technique, their ability to inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Genotoxicity was evaluated using the Salmonella microsome assay. This study revealed that 34 plant species belonging to 27 families are used for the treatment of diarrhoea in Bizana. The extracts showed good inhibitory activity with MIC values ranging from 0.39 to 12.5mg/ml. The best activity was exhibited by DCM extracts of Rapanea melanophloeos, and EtOH extracts of Ficus craterostoma and Maesa lanceolata with MIC values of 0.098mg/ml. The inhibitory activity against COX-1 enzyme was higher than COX-2, with 19 plant extracts for the former and 7 for the latter. All the tested plant extracts were not mutagenic at all concentrations tested against all tester strains of bacteria. In view of the fact that the plants were selected based on their ethnobotanical usage for treating diarrhoea, the activities reported here goes a long way in validating the plants for traditional use.