Antimicrobial medicinal plants used in the grands ponts region (Cote d'Ivoire): Ethnobotanical study and evaluation of the antibacterial, antifungal and toxic activities of the most frequently used taxa

Title : Antimicrobial medicinal plants used in the grands ponts region (Cote d'Ivoire): Ethnobotanical study and evaluation of the antibacterial, antifungal and toxic activities of the most frequently used taxa

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to identify antimicrobial medicinal plants in the Grands Ponts region of Côte d'Ivoire and to assess the antimicrobial and pharmacological activities of some of these plants. The ethnobotanical survey identified 105 species belonging to 95 genera and 48 families. The Euphorbiaceae family was the most represented in terms of species.  Trees and microphanerophytes were the most represented morphological and biological types.  Most of the species recorded belong to the GC-SZ phytogeographical zone. Leaves were the most commonly used parts. Decoction and kneading, and the cutaneous route, were the main methods of preparation and administration of medicinal remedies, in combination with the other routes (oral, anal, nasal, auricular and ocular). 22% of the recipes were monospecific. Among the most frequently cited species, Mallotus oppositifolius, Mareya micrantha and Macaranga hurifolia were selected. Aqueous, 70% ethanolic and aqueous residual extracts were used to assess antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic and acute toxicity activities, followed by phytochemical sorting.  The Müller-Hinton solid diffusion and liquid microdilution methods produced zones of inhibition of the extracts ranging from 6.67 ± 0.58 to 28.17 ± 0.29 mm for all strains, with MICs ranging from 1.56 to 100 mg/mL. The agar diffusion method was used to assess antifungal activity. It yielded MICs ranging from 0.097 to 3.125 mg/mL; MFCs between 0.097 and ? 1.56 mg/mL and IC50s ranging from 0.048 to 0.145 mg/mL for all extracts. Phytochemical sorting of the 9 extracts studied revealed the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenes, saponoids, sterols, coumarins and quinones. Cytotoxicity tests of 70% ethanolic extracts of M. oppositifolius, Mareya micrantha and Macaranga hurifolia using the MTT test on human HFF (Human Foreskin Fibroblast) cells in in vitro culture showed that extracts of Mallotus oppositifolius and Macaranga hurifolia were not cytotoxic. Mareya micrantha, on the other hand, is toxic to humans. All these results justify the traditional use of extracts from these species.

Keywords: Ethnobotany, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic, Ivory Coast, Mallotus oppositifolius, Mareya micrantha and Macaranga hurifolia

Biography:

YAPO Cynthia began her academic training at the University of Abobo Adjamé in Côte d'Ivoire. She obtained a master's degree in 2014, where she studied Plant Biology - ethnobotany option and specialised in Ethnopharmacology for her doctorate obtained in 2018 at the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Part of her research work was carried out at the Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire. Having taught Life and Earth Sciences at the Lycée since 2018, she was recruited as an Assistant in the Science and Technology Department at the Université Alassane Ouattara on 14 October 2021. She has published 11 articles.