Ethnobotanical Survey and Biological Activities of Two Lactogenic Plants in the Cascades Region of Burkina Faso

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey for a better knowledge of lactogenic plants has been conducted in Cascades region of Burkina Faso. Biological activities of the two most used plants were evaluated. The survey concerned 25 species classified into 22 genera and 19 families. The most represented families were Moraceae, Apocynaceae, Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae and Malvaceae. The most used species were Euphorbia hirta, Calotropis procera and Ficus sycomorus with respectively 16.98%, 13.21% and 13.21% followed by Ficus platyphylla (9.43%) and Carica papaya, Holarrhena floribunda, Scoparia dulcis, Sorghum bicolor, each with 3.77% of frequency use. Plants organs mostly used for medicinal preparation were leaves, whole plant for herbaceous species, fruits and seeds. The main mode of medicinal preparation was decoction with 60.42% of frequency use. The most route of administration was oral (68.75%). Biological activities evaluation concerned Euphorbia hirta and Calotropis procera which were the most used plants. The acute toxicity of aqueous extracts of Calotropis procera (AECP) and Euphorbia hirta (AEEH) showed a LD 50 of 2063 and 603 mg/kg body weight (b.w), respectively. These LD 50 values permitted to classify these plants as slightly toxic herbal drugs. The uterotrophic test showed that the AECP and AEEH exhibited estrogenic activity. In conclusion, important medicinal plants in the Cascades region of Burkina Faso were used to stimulate or ameliorate lactation. However further studies must be conducted to confirm the traditional use of these plants.

Plants, food and treatments used by BaKongo tribes in Uíge (northern Angola) to affect the quality and quantity of human breast milk

“…The naming may have its origin in the production and secretion of a white milk sap that is strikingly similar to regular milk, or due to its effect on breast milk production. The use of Euphorbia hirta as a galactagogue was recorded once in our study but also known from previous studies [11,24,26] and mentioned as a milk "cleaning" plant as well. The latter application could be related to its antidiarrhoeic activity [76] and antibacterial effects against some gram-positive bacteria, causing enteric infections [61].…”

“…According to Neuwinger [ 10 ], these galactagogues are agents that promote the secretion of milk or increase milk flow. The use of galactagogue herbs by women around the world have been recorded in previous studies [ 11 – 15 ]. A study conducted in the neighbouring country also showed the use of five galactagogues by the rural population [ 16 ].…”

An in vitro Propagation of Aspilia africana (Pers.) C. D. Adams, and Evaluation of Its Anatomy and Physiology of Acclimatized Plants

“…Aspilia africana is one of the most valuable medicinal plants in the wild and is widely used in communities where it occurs (Okoli et al, 2007;Eweka and Eweka, 2008;Okello and Kang, 2019;Niyonizigiye et al, 2020). In Uganda, A. africana is 1 of the top 17 most effective herbal plants used for the treatment of malaria (Okello and Kang, 2019) and in Cameroon, it is the most commonly used plant for treating wounds (Simbo, 2010). Aspilia africana is indigenous to East Africa, although it occurs in forest zones in all regions of tropical Africa and the savanna in countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, and Niger (Komakech et al, 2019;Okello et al, 2020).…”