Ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, and phytochemistry of traditional medicinal plants used in the management of symptoms of tuberculosis in East Africa: a systematic review

Samuel Baker Obakiro; Ambrose Kiprop; Isaac Kowino; Elizabeth Kigondu; Mark Peter Odero; Timothy Omara; Lydia Bunalema

doi:10.1186/s41182-020-00256-1

Ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, and phytochemistry of traditional medicinal plants used in the management of symptoms of tuberculosis in East Africa: a systematic review

Trop Med Health. 2020 Aug 14:48:68. doi: 10.1186/s41182-020-00256-1. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Samuel Baker Obakiro^{1

2

3}, Ambrose Kiprop^{2

3}, Isaac Kowino^{3

4}, Elizabeth Kigondu⁵, Mark Peter Odero^{2

3}, Timothy Omara^{2

3

6}, Lydia Bunalema⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, P.O. Box 1460, Mbale, Uganda.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Sciences and Aerospace Studies, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
³ Africa Centre of Excellence II in Phytochemicals, Textiles and Renewable Energy (ACE II PTRE), Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
⁴ Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masinde-Muliro University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 190-50100, Kakamega, Kenya.
⁵ Centre of Traditional Medicine and Drug Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
⁶ Department of Quality Control and Quality Assurance, Product Development Directory, AgroWays Uganda Limited, Plot 34-60, Kyabazinga Way, P.O. Box 1924, Jinja, Uganda.
⁷ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Objective: Many studies on the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) using herbal medicines have been undertaken in recent decades in East Africa. The details, however, are highly fragmented. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the reported medicinal plants used to manage TB symptoms, and to analyze scientific reports on their effectiveness and safety.

Method: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the major electronic databases regarding medicinal plants used in the management of TB in East Africa. A total of 44 reports were retrieved, and data were collected on various aspects of the medicinal plants such as botanical name, family, local names, part(s) used, method of preparation, efficacy, toxicity, and phytochemistry. The data were summarized into percentages and frequencies which were presented as tables and graphs.

Results: A total of 195 species of plants belonging to 68 families and 144 genera were identified. Most encountered species were from Fabaceae (42.6%), Lamiaceae (19.1%), Asteraceae (16.2%), and Euphorbiaceae (14.7%) families. Only 36 medicinal plants (18.5%) have been screened for antimycobacterial activity. Out of these, 31 (86.1%) were reported to be bioactive with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 47 to 12,500 μg/ml. Most tested plant extracts were found to have acceptable acute toxicity profiles with cytotoxic concentrations on normal mammalian cells greater than 200 μg/ml. The most commonly reported phytochemicals were flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, and phenols. Only Tetradenia riparia, Warburgia ugandensis, and Zanthoxylum leprieurii have further undergone isolation and characterization of the pure bioactive compounds.

Conclusion: East Africa has a rich diversity of medicinal plants that have been reported to be effective in the management of symptoms of TB. More validation studies are required to promote the discovery of antimycobacterial drugs and to provide evidence for standardization of herbal medicine use.

Keywords: Antimycobacterial; Antitubercular; Herbal medicine; Medicinal plants; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Phytochemicals.

Publication types

Review