Erectile dysfunction is the persistent inability of a man to achieve or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient for satisfactory intercourse. Its socio-cultural involvement is important, since one of the purposes of marriage is procreation. In the past, the woman was indexed as the cause of the couple's infertility or lack of procreation. Nowadays, this disorder is quite common among men. The objective of this work is to contribute to the study of medicinal plants used by traditional herbalists for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in the Municipality of Ngaba in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Surveys conducted with herbalists have identified 22 plant species belonging to 19 families. The most used organs are the root and the stem. The seeds are the least used. Chewing is the predominant mode of preparation. It is followed by the decoction and the grounded material. Maceration is the least prescribed. These results have made it possible to inventory the medicinal plants involved in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Aims: This study addressed the identification of bioactive compounds, the determination of mineral content and the evaluation of the antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-sickling activities of aqueous extract from stem bark of Harungana madagascariensis. Place and Duration of Study: Centre d’Etudes des Substances Naturelles d’Origine Végétale (CESNOV), Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa and Faculty of Sciences, National Pedagogic University in DRC, between October 2018 and January 2021. Methodology: Phytochemical screening was evaluated by chromatographic methods (TLC and HPLC), the mineral composition by ICP-AES and the antioxidant activities using ABTS and DPPH assays, the antibacterial activity against four bacteria strains using the micro-dilution method; and the in vitro anti-sickling activity by the Emmel test. Results: Phytochemical analysis revealed the abundance in this plant of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, anthraquinones and triterpenoids. The extract contains sodium, iron, selenium and zinc in proportions of 955.40 ppm, 369.65 ppm, 375.70 ppm and 44.79 ppm respectively as well as copper, chromium and other elements. The antioxidant potential of the stem bark infusion extract from H. madagascariensis, evaluated by the ABTS and DPPH tests, showed very high antioxidant activity due to this free radical scavenging capacity linked to IC50 values of 3.08 ± 0.19 µg/mL (ABTS) and 3.53 ± 0.22 µg/mL (DPPH). The antibacterial sensitivity testing with MIC determination performed on a strain isolated from a sickle cell patient and four reference strains showed the MIC values of the extract ranged from 31.25 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL. The lowest MIC value was observed on S. aureus ATCC 25923 while the highest MIC value was obtained on Enterococcus spp Clinical. Conclusion: The stem bark extract of H. madagascariensis showed high anti-sickling activity at 10.42 µg/mL, which may be due to its phytochemical constituents such as saponins, alkaloids and flavonoids Obtained results could justify the efficacy of recipes from stem bark of Harungana madagascariensis in the management of various infections in traditional medicine and anti-sickle cell disease.

The present research aims to test the antibacterial activities of a sample of 13 plant species used in traditional medicine against infectious and parasitic diseases in Kinshasa and its surroundings. Ten herbal drugs were tested in the laboratory on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. With the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, three of the four bacterial strains tested are sensitive to the herbal recipes in this study: Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. These results give credibility to the traditional knowledge of local ethnic groups for the antibacterial properties of traditional prescriptions used in traditional medicine.

In many suburban municipalities of developing countries, the household drinking water comes mainly from groundwater including, wells, streams and springs. These sources are vulnerable because poor hygienic conditions and sanitation prevail causing persistence and recurrent waterborne diseases. In this research, a survey study on water resource use and an epidemiological survey of waterborne diseases were conducted among users of water points and medical institutions in suburban communes of Selembao and Kimbanseke (Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In addition, physicochemical (temperature, pH, O2, electrical conductivity, and soluble ions: Na+, K+, PO43−, SO42−, NO3−, NO2−) and bacteriological (FIB: faecal indicator bacteria) analyses of water from 21 wells and springs were performed according to the seasonal variations. FIB included Escherichia coli (E. coli), Enterococcus and Total Coliforms. The survey results indicate that more than 75% of the patients admitted to local medical institutions between 2016 and 2019 are affected by waterborne diseases, including typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis disorders and cholera. Except for NO3− in some sites, the water physicochemical parameter values are within WHO permissible limits for drinking/domestic water quality. On the contrary, the results revealed high FIB levels in water from unmanaged wells and springs during rainy and dry seasons. The microbiological pollution was significantly higher in the rainy season compared to the dry season. Interestingly, no FIB contamination was observed in water samples from managed/developed wells. The results from this study will guide local government decisions on improving water quality to prevent recurrent waterborne diseases.

More than 80% of the population in Africa by the World Health Organization (WHO) leans on endogenous knowledge to solve their primary health care problems. In this study, we examined the relevance of Costus afer Ker Gawl, a plant called ginger lily, spiral ginger or bush cane. It is believed to be used in traditional medicine practice (TMP) to treat and manage many conditions including diabetes mellitus, stomach ailments, arthritis, inflammation. These alleged traditional incited large researchers to conduct studies on the plant to amass scientific evidence. However, these results are sparse, and thus, an inventory through the present search using online search engines such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus and Chemical Abstracts for the period from 1990 to 2021; provides a bibliographic actualization on the plant, taking into account its traditional uses, phytochemical and nutritional constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicological effects. The online search included the use of the keywords, "Costus afer Ker-Gawl" or "Costus afer". It should be noted that the stem and leaves of the plant contain consistent amounts of micronutrients and macronutrients. The leaves, stem, rhizomes of C. afer contain several steroidal sapogenins, aferosides, dioscin and paryphyllin C and a flavonoid glycoside, kaempferol-3-O- \(\alpha\)-L-rhamnopyranoside. Experimental studies on various parts of the plant have shown biological activities such as anti-hyperglycemic, hepatocellular protection, cardioprotection, nephroprotection, CNS depressant, analgesic, antiarthritis, antibacterial and antioxidant. This wide range of biological properties of Costus afer Ker Gawl would be largely attributed to the essential oil compounds such as Sabinene, \(\beta\) -pinene and \(\beta\) -caryophyllene which are among the major compounds of this plant. Based on these obvious data, it is concluded that the plant could be used as an alternative and complementary therapy for many diseases related to oxidative stress so will guide us future research on the use of Costus afer Ker Gawl as an anti-inflammatory.