Lawaly Maman Manzo
Abdou Moumouni University, South Africa
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Nat Prod Chem Res
Gastrointestinal tract, a part of the human digestive system is an important organ that is vulnerable to different disorders which contribute substantially on worldwide morbidity and mortality rates, including in Niger. The majority of the people in Niger still use local medicinal plants to treat these infections or diseases. This study aimed at reviewing the past and actual knowledge about the medicinal plants used to treat digestive system disorders in Niger people of different provinces. Relevant data about the plants species used to treat gastrointestinal tract disorders were extracted from different reports of the past and current ethnobotanical surveys conducted in Niger for a comprehensive review and for a national scale analysis of their use. A statistical approach was used to determine the relative importance index in order to rank all species according to their usefulness. A total of 140 plant species belonging to 50 families were recorded as being used by the Niger population to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Combretaceae (16/50), Mimosaceae (14/50), Caesalpiniaceae (13/50) and Fabaceae (12/50) were the botanical families with the most used species. In this review Lannea acida, Acacia nilotica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Bauhinia rufescens, Boswellia dalzielli, Combretum micranthum and Ziziphus mauritiana were ranked as the most cited plants. Phytochemical analyses of the plants extracts revealed the presence of tannins, terpenoids, steroids, alkaloids in most of plant species. The review and analysis of the medicinal plants reported through several ethnomedicinal surveys conducted in Niger have permitted to precisely provide substantial details on the medicinal usage of certain plants best to treat gastrointestinal disorders. These baseline comprehensive data could certainly attract most investigators to initiate further research which might lead to the development of new lead-drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
Email: manzolawal@yahoo.com
