A Review of Plant-Based Therapies for the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections in Traditional Southern African Medicine

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are amongst the most common bacterial infections globally, with ∼11% of the world’s population contracting at least one infection annually. Several South African plants are used in traditional healing systems to treat UTIs, yet the therapeutic potential of these plants against bacteria that cause UTI remains poorly explored. This study documents southern African plant species used traditionally to treat UTIs. An extensive literature review was undertaken to document the southern African plant species that are used in traditional South African medicine to treat UTIs, thereby highlighting gaps in the current research that require further study. One hundred and fifty-three southern African plant species that are used to treat UTIs were identified. Eighty-five southern African plants were identified as having noteworthy inhibitory activity against the major UTI-causing bacteria. Few of those studies screened against all of the bacterial causes of UTIs, and none of those studies examined the mechanism of action of the plant preparations. Furthermore, many of those studies did not test the toxicity of the plant extracts, so an evaluation of the safety for therapeutic usage was lacking. Substantial further research is to determine their potential for therapeutic use.

Chemical profiling of Punica granatum peels from Jordan using LC–MS/MS and study on their biological activities

“…Investigating medicinal plants as a natural source of bioactive compounds for the healthcare of human beings has been a continuing concern in the last few decades. The use of edible and non‐edible parts of several plant species as traditional remedies in folk medicine is one of the most areas of interest, and has been embraced as an effective remedy for the treatment of several diseases of human beings from ancient times (Ayoub & Mehta, 2018; Cock et al., 2021). Many plants such as pomegranate are highly used by local communities in Jordan as traditional alternative medicines and they have been postulated for various diseases on the basis of trial‐and‐error tests.…”

An Inventory of South African Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Sexually Transmitted and Related Opportunistic Infections: An Appraisal and Some Scientific Evidence (1990–2020)

“…However, these mixtures have a plethora of unidentified plant names, quantities used and other important relevant pharmacological indications. It is important to note that these mixtures pose a tremendous danger to humans, as their toxicological and pharmacological aspects are overlooked [ 132 ]. Such plant-based mixtures reportedly exhibit some devastating mutagenic effects against the human reproductive system and may well lead to infertility and some complications that relate to impotence and infertility [ 133 ].…”

Comparing ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants between community health workers and local experts in the “Mata da Paraíba” zone, northeastern Brazil

“…There are several records in the literature on the medicinal use of the most prominent species in the present study, many of them citing uses similar to those observed here. D. ambrosioides is cited in the literature for sputum, cough, bruises, flu, tuberculosis, urinary diseases, scarring and pain in the body (Cock et al 2021;Farias et al 2019, Magalhães et al 2019. M. arvensis is seen in the treatment of abdominal pain (diarrhea), gastric and intestinal problems, stomach acidity, earache and respiratory problems, menstrual pain and anxiety (Khan et al 2021;Magalhães et al 2019;Rehman et al 2017).…”