Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community

Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the highest cause of mortality worldwide in children under the age of 5 years, with the highest mortalities occurring in low-to-middle income countries. Treatment can involve use of unregulated herbal medication and antibiotics. A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications in the management of AGE among Yòrùbá-speaking communities in Kwara State, Nigeria. Our findings suggest habitual use of antibiotics (54.6%) and herbal medication (42.5%) in the management of AGE with high levels of self-prescription of antibiotics (21.7%) and herbal medications (36.2%) within the community. Ethanolic extracts of selected herbal plants reported (i.e. Aristolochia ringens, Azadirachta indica, Chromolaena odorata, Etanda Africana, Ficus capensis, Ficus vogelii, Mangifera indica, Momordica charantia, Ocimum gratisimum, Senna alata, Sorghum bicolor and Vernonia amygdalina) were investigated for antibacterial properties, using bacteria known to be causative agents of AGE. Our findings showed that, with exception of Ficus vogelii, which enhanced bacterial growth, the plant extracts reported all showed some antibacterial activity. We further discuss our findings within a regulatory context, with the aim to guide the use of traditional and herbal medication in low-to medium income countries (LMICs) and reduce the potential risks associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Current use of complementary and conventional medicine for treatment of pediatric patients with gastrointestinal disorders

“…In addition to probiotics and zinc supplementation, herbal medicines have a history of treating diarrhea in children (Shane et al, 2017). In Africa, some commonly used herbs for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis include extracts of the neem tree (A. indica) and E. africana (Adeyemi et al, 2021). A commonly used herbal treatment in China is the Gengen Huangqin Huanglian Decoction (GHHD) (Wu et al, 2020).…”

Effects of Gegen Qinlian Decoction combined with Chinese herbal hot package on the expression of PCT, CRP and IL-6 in patients with acute gastroenteritis

“…AGE is an acute inflammatory disease caused by a bacterial or viral infection of the gastrointestinal mucosa, usually accompanied by acute diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever (1)(2)(3). AGE is the highest cause of under-five mortality worldwide, especially in low-and middle-income countries (4). At present, the clinical treatment of AGE is the main symptomatic treatment of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, which can improve the clinical symptoms of patients to a certain extent, but the efficacy of long-term use is poor, and it is easy to bring more adverse reactions.…”