Launaea taraxacifolia is a leafy vegetable of the family of Asteraceae (Compositae) found in several countries in West Africa including Ghana, Benin and Nigeria. The plant leaves are eaten either fresh as salad or cooked as sauces. They are also consumed as infusion to fight against several diseases including non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Several studies have been conducted in Ghana, Nigeria on the nutritional and medicinal values of this plant but no study has yet been conducted in Benin on the virtues of this plant. In this work we have achieved the phytochemical characterization and evaluated the cytotoxicity as well as hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of the ethanol-aqueous extracts of Launaea taraxacifolia leaves. Cytotoxicity and hypolipidemic activities have been performed on HepG2 cells; the antioxidant effect has been performed on the PLB985 cells. The results showed that the ethanol-aqueous extracts of Launaea taraxacifolia leaves contained the following metabolites: catechic tannin, flavonoids, phenolic acids, mucilage and leucoanthocyanins. Only very high concentrations (>20 mg/ml) of leaves extracts are toxic for HepG2 cells. Launaea taraxacifolia leaves have significant antioxidant and hypolipidemic activities.

Balanites aegyptiaca is a wild plant species largely used in folk medicine and a priority fruit tree in West Africa. In Benin, its overexploitation for ethnoveterinary uses could lead to its rarity or extinction in the long term. In this study, we evaluate the possibilities of its substitution by other Zygophyllaceae species. This study was based on optimal defense theory, which distinguished 2 categories of plants: K-strategist species and r-strategist species. Phytochemical screening was carried out based on aqueous extracts of the leafy stems of B. aegyptiaca and Guaiacum officinale (K-strategist species) and Tribulus terrestris and Kallstroemia pubescens (r-strategist species) for the identification of chemical compounds. The phenolic compounds were quantified by quercetin and vanillin methods. The extracts were tested against 5 bacterial strains responsible for severe diarrhea in bovines. Our results indicated the presence of many phytochemicals, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponosides, and tannins. The diversity in secondary metabolites is higher for r-strategist than K-strategist species. The contents of total polyphenols ranged from 4.82 ± 0.05 to 41.84 mg GAE/g of extract. The flavonoid contents varied from 30.64 ± 0.35 to 57.11 ± 0.13 mg QE/g of extract and those of the tannins from 0.04 ± 0.00 to 0.06 ± 0.01 mg PE/mL. The sensitivity of the bacterial strains showed a significant dependence on the extracts. Of the species, K. pubescens showed a bactericidal activity on the majority of strains tested and thus could be a potential substitute for B. aegyptiaca in the treatment of infectious diarrhea.

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Skin diseases can get natural therapies from medicinal plant-based products. In this study, a topical cream was formulated from ethanol extract of Acacia sieberiana, beeswax and Vitellaria paradoxa (shea) butter. GC-MS characterization with co-injection of the topical cream revealed Stearic acid (31.43%), Palmitic acid (23.15%), Oleic acid (21.44%) and Linoleic acid (16.20%) as the major components. Seven phenolic conpounds were identified and quantified by HPLC- DAD and Ferulic acid (12.81±0.26 mg/g) was the most abundant. The cream showed good antioxidant properties evaluated through ?-Carotene-linoleic acid assay, DPPH• radical scavenging, ABTS•+ assay, CUPRAC assay, and metal chelating assay. The cream had higher activity in the DPPH• assay (IC50 = 32.10±0.84 µg/mL), ABTS•+ assay (IC50 = 22.49±0.62 µg/mL) and CUPRAC assay (IC50 = 49.27±0.79 µg/mL) than ?-Tocopherol. The antioxidant effects are an indication that the cream can reduce oxidative stress on the skin including aging, carcinogenesis and inflammation. At 100 µg/mL, the topical cream showed tyrosinase inhibition of 48.23±0.87% regarded as relatively good compared to the standard tyrosinase inhibitor kojic acid, which showed 79.50±0.32% inhibition at the same concentration. The cosmetic cream was able to inhibit the melanin production rate-limiting enzyme, tyrosinase, indicating that it can control hyperpigmentation and skin spots.

The use of medicinal plants with antibiotic and immuno-modulating properties could constitute an alternative in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Tetrapleura tetraptera is a plant of the Fabaceae family whose fruits are used in food, cosmetics and therapy. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antibiotic properties of the ethanolic extract of the dried fruits of Tetrapleura tetraptera after an infection with a clinical strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Phytochemical screening of T. tetraptera fruits was carried out by precipitation and staining reactions. The determination of total phenols was done by the colorimetric method of Folin-Ciocalteu; the determination of flavonoids by the aluminum trichloride method. Antibiotic activity was assessed by numeration of blood cells involved in the natural and specific immune response (leukocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes). Anti-inflammatory activity was demonstrated by the presence or absence of C-reactive protein in the blood of infected rats. The results obtained were compared with those obtained in rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus and treated with Bactrim (Sulfamethoxazole+Trimethoprim) 40 mg/kg. Our results showed that the fruits of T. tetraptera contained several secondary metabolites and were rich in flavonoids and total phenols. The ethanolic extract of the fruits of T tetraptera had an antibiotic activity which allowed to eliminate the infection by Staphylococcus aureus germs after 21 days and the inflammation induced by the infection after 7 days.