article · American Journal of Laboratory Medicine
Traditional medicine provides primary healthcare for an estimated eighty percent of people globally. This investigation evaluated the biological properties of three medicinal plants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Afromomum alboviolaceum, Annona senegalensis, and Mondia whitei. Researchers tested ethanolic extracts and dichloromethane fractions from these species against sickle cell blood samples and three bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antioxidant capacity was measured using ABTS and DPPH assays. The ethanolic extracts of A. alboviolaceum and A. senegalensis, alongside dichloromethane fractions of A. alboviolaceum and M. whitei, showed strong ABTS radical scavenging activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations below one hundred micrograms per millilitre. Furthermore, all tested plant extracts demonstrated high antisickling activity. Antibacterial action was limited to the dichloromethane extracts, which were exclusively active against Staphylococcus aureus.
Sickle cell anaemia and secondary bacterial infections present major public health challenges, especially where populations rely heavily on traditional medicine. By scientifically demonstrating that these three indigenous Congolese plants have antisickling, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, this laboratory work provides supportive evidence for traditional remedies and highlights local natural resources that could guide the development of accessible treatments.
This research is at an early laboratory stage, providing basic bioactivity data rather than formulated therapeutics. The findings could interest pharmaceutical researchers, herbal medicine developers, and natural product chemists seeking active leads for sickle cell anaemia management or topical antibacterial formulations against Staphylococcus aureus. Significant pre-clinical validation, compound isolation, and safety testing remain necessary before any commercial healthcare applications can be realised.
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In accordance with statistics from the World Health Organization, nearly 80% of populations depend on traditional medicine for primary health care. In order to scientifically validate the phyto-therapeutic wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three plants were chosen namely: <i>Afromomum alboviolaceum</i>, <i>Annona senegalensis</i> and <i>Mondia whitei</i>. The objective of our study was to assess the antisickling, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the ethanolic extracts and the dichloromethane fractions of these three plants. Sickle cell blood was supplied from Centre de Médecine Mixte and Anémie SS of Yolo Sud, Kinshasa. Three bacterial strains were used including <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 25923, <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 8739 and <i>Pseudomonas aeroginosa</i> ATCC 9027. The ethanolic extracts of <i>A. alboviolaceum</i> and <i>A. senegalensis</i> and dichloromethane fractions of <i>A. alboviolaceum</i> and <i>M. whitei</i> showed IC50 values < 100 μg/mL in the ABTS test. Only the dichloromethane fraction of <i>A. senengalensis</i> showed an IC<sub>50</sub> value of less than 100 μg/mL for the DPPH test. The inhibitory concentration 50 (IC<sub>50</sub>) values obtained from the ABTS test are lower than those of the DPPH test. All tested extracts possess a high antisickling activity and only soluble dichloromethane extracts are active vis-à-vis <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MIC = 31.5 μg/mL). These results constitute a scientific evidence validating the use of these three medicinal plants for the management of sickle-cell anemia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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DOI: 10.11648/j.ajlm.20170204.13
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