Ethnobotanical Study and Phytochemical Screening of Some Plants Used in the Treatment of Abdominal Pain of Infectious Origin in Yaoundé, Central-Cameroon

Abstract

Aim: An ethnobotanical study of some medicinal plants was carried out in several markets in the city of Yaoundé in central Cameroon, in the Mfoundi Department, after which chemical screening was carried out on some of them. The aim of this study was to show the different uses of plants in the treatment of abdominal pain of infectious origin. Methodology and Results: The method used was an ethnobotanical survey of adults present in the study area. The survey consisted of administering a questionnaire to ascertain the multiple uses of plants by adults in various markets, and compiling a list of plants used to treat abdominal pain of infectious origin. It resulted in the identification of 95 recipes involving 36 plant species divided into 30 genera and 22 botanical families. Garcinia kola and Garcinia lucida were used in 57 and 37 recipes respectively. The bark was the most frequently used part, accounting for 39.96% of the medicinal recipes. Decoction (41.05%) is the most commonly used method of drug preparation. The oral route is the most commonly used, accounting for 86.32% of cases. Phytochemical sorting of hydrolic and methanolic extracts of Garcinia kola, Garcinia lucida, Annickia affinis, Picralima nitida, Dacryodes edulis, Alstonia boonei, Rauvolfia vomitoria and Drypetes grossweileri revealed that the various drugs in these plants contain phenols, glycosides, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids and anthraquinones, which give them various therapeutic properties. Conclusion: These results can be considered as a source of information for scientific research in the field of pharmacology.