|
Title
|
|
|
|
Ethnobotanical study and characterization of medicinal plants used by the population of the Kisantu and Mbanza-Ngungu territories, Kongo Central Province (DR Congo)
| |
|
Author
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
| The DRC pharmacopoeia contains monographs on various medicinal plants with pharmacological properties, whose knowledge and use is rapidly eroding. To document the remaining knowledge, we conducted an interdisciplinary study integrating ethnobotany, ecology, and phytochemistry. The study aimed to assess Kongo people's traditional medicinal expertise in Kisantu and Mbanza-Ngungu territories, identify the most important medicinal plants, as well as key people who hold this knowledge, and to study the vegetation of Mbanza-Ngungu, with an emphasis on important medicinal plants. In addition, a phytochemical profiling of selected important medicinal plants for which no relevant phytochemical information was available in literature was performed to provide a scientific basis for their use. Ethnobotanical data were gathered from 188 informants, including herbalists, traditional health practitioners, and curing healers, using snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative ethnobotanical parameters such as UV and IAR allowed identification of 54 important medicinal plants from the 231 species inventoried. These metrics, combined with ICF, introduced "Species Therapeutic Potential" (STP), facilitating selection of 35 Kongo key medicinal plant species, most of which (33) are chemically well documented. Only two native species: Commelina africana L. and Kalaharia uncinata (Schinz) Moldenke showed no relevant phytochemical information and were therefore subjected to further phytochemical investigation. Moreover, statistical analysis revealed that Kongo ethnomedicinal knowledge varies by gender, location, and practitioner categories, with men, curing healer and urban phytotherapists of Mbanza-Ngungu exhibiting advanced expertise compared to women, rural respondents, and traditional health practitioners. The vegetation of the region, which included savannah, anthropized areas, swamp and dryland forests, hosted 709 botanical species (113 families, 446 genera). It reflected the degraded Guinean-Congo flora, dominated by Fabaceae, phanerophytes, herbs, sarcochores and species characteristic of the phytosociological group Musango-Terminalietea. The analysis also revealed similarities between adjacent plant formations, especially dryland forests and savannahs. Most plant species showed limited ecological niche and declining availability, especially medicinal plants, that could be considered as rare or endangered. Phytochemical analysis using UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS allowed identification of flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and lignanamides in C. africana, with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. Similarly, phenylethanoid glycosides, phenolic acids, and iridoid glycosides were found in K. uncinata extracts, with reported antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Further studies, including NMR spectrometry, can be conducted to elucidate chemical structure of compounds. Additionally, biological studies can assess additive and synergistic effects to enhance extracts potency and efficacy. Conservation efforts, both in and ex situ, are essential to safeguard rare plants and ensure their availability. |
| |
|
Language
|
|
|
|
English
| |
|
Publication
|
|
|
|
Ghent
:
Ghent University & University of Antwerp
,
2024
| |
|
ISBN
|
|
|
|
978-94-6357-724-3
| |
|
DOI
|
|
|
|
10.63028/10067/2056400151162165141
| |
|
Volume/pages
|
|
|
|
xxiii, 292 p.
| |
|
Note
|
|
|
|
:
Peña, de la, Eduardo [Supervisor]
:
Damme, Van, Patrick [Supervisor]
:
Pieters, Luc [Supervisor]
:
Katula, Honoré Belesi [Supervisor]
| |
|
Full text (open access)
|
|
|
|
| |
|