TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic review of antimalarial medicinal plants in democratic republic of the Congo
AU - Rusaati, Butoto Imani Wa
AU - Gendusa, Arusi Patience
AU - Joo, Sung Hyun
AU - Park, Joo Won
AU - Masumbuko, Cephas Ndabaga
AU - Iragi, Gentil Kaboyi
AU - Ngbolua, Koto Te Nyiwa
AU - Furaha, Astrid Matendo
AU - Rolly, Nkulu Kabange
AU - Kang, Jun Won
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - In Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is one of the country’s major public health issues and responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people every year in both rural and urban environments. Antimalarial drugs are commonly used but some recorded cases of drug resis-tance are a major obstacle to control-ling the spread of malaria. It is therefore essential to identify new bioactive mole-cules as an alternative. Many medicinal plants with different properties have been used as treatments for a variety of diseases in the DRC, including malaria. This study provides a systematic review of antimalarial plant resources in the DRC. From 28 papers on ethnomedicine published between 2001 and 2019, a total of 232 plant species belonging to 67 different plant families and identified in 13 provinces was reported in the treatment of malaria. A large number of these plant species belong to the Faba-ceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubia-ceae, and Apocyanaceae families. Species cited in more than three provinces include Cymbopogon citratus, Vernonia amygdalina, Rauvolfia vomitoria and Catharanthus roseus. Most of the species identified as antimalarial plants were tree species, with phanerophytes predomina-ting. In addition, leaves were identified as the main ingredients for preparing remedies, most commonly by decoction administered orally.
AB - In Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is one of the country’s major public health issues and responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people every year in both rural and urban environments. Antimalarial drugs are commonly used but some recorded cases of drug resis-tance are a major obstacle to control-ling the spread of malaria. It is therefore essential to identify new bioactive mole-cules as an alternative. Many medicinal plants with different properties have been used as treatments for a variety of diseases in the DRC, including malaria. This study provides a systematic review of antimalarial plant resources in the DRC. From 28 papers on ethnomedicine published between 2001 and 2019, a total of 232 plant species belonging to 67 different plant families and identified in 13 provinces was reported in the treatment of malaria. A large number of these plant species belong to the Faba-ceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubia-ceae, and Apocyanaceae families. Species cited in more than three provinces include Cymbopogon citratus, Vernonia amygdalina, Rauvolfia vomitoria and Catharanthus roseus. Most of the species identified as antimalarial plants were tree species, with phanerophytes predomina-ting. In addition, leaves were identified as the main ingredients for preparing remedies, most commonly by decoction administered orally.
KW - Antimalarial treatment
KW - Democratic Republic of the Congo
KW - Ethnomedicine
KW - Medicinal plants
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107490760&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.19182/bft2021.347.a31882
DO - 10.19182/bft2021.347.a31882
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85107490760
SN - 0006-579X
VL - 347
SP - 11
EP - 27
JO - Bois et Forets des Tropiques
JF - Bois et Forets des Tropiques
ER -