An ethnopharmacological investigation of medicinal plants used for childhood ailments in Thaba ‘Nchu, South Africa

Abstract

Medicinal plants have a long history of use worldwide (75-80% of the world’s population) as traditional medicine to manage various ailments, including those affecting children. The use of medicinal plants is also fuelled by the outbreak of different childhood ailments, after-effects that emanate from modern medicine, and expensive (limited) healthcare services. This study was carried out to document the use of medicinal plants for childhood ailments in Thaba ‘Nchu, Free State, South Africa, and evaluate three selected plants for phytochemical contents, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity. Thirty traditional medicinal practitioners were interviewed through semi-structured interviews between November 2018 and March 2019. Medicinal plants were used to treat 19 diseases commonly found in children. The study revealed that depression of fontanelles has the highest frequency of mention (58) with an Informant Consensus Factor of 0.56, and bronchiolitis has the highest Informant Consensus Factor of 1.00. Berkheya montana (UV of 0.47 with 76% fidelity level) was the most frequently and popularly used medicinal plant species. Solunum aculeatissimum (UV of 0.30 with 43% fidelity level) was the least frequently and least popularly used medicinal plant species. Aloe grandidentata (UV of 0.17 with 10% fidelity level) was the least used medicinal plant in the selected study area. Roots (66%) were the dominant plant part utilised to prepare remedies for treating childhood ailments. As a result, three medicinal plants (B. montana, S. aculeatissimum, and Aloe grandidentata) were chosen for further investigation due to their abundance in the study area as well as the lack of focused and comprehensive research on their medicinal properties concerning ailments in children. The presence of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, phlobatannins, saponins, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids was analysed qualitatively in acetone, methanol and water extracts from B. montana, S. aculeatissimum, and A. grandidentata. Terpenoids were abundant in the all the extracts except the acetone extract of A. grandidentata and were the only phytochemicals detected in the water extract of B. montana. Flavonoids and Saponins were the least abundant phytochemicals in the extracts tested. The cytotoxicity evaluation of extracts from the three plants was conducted using the Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide (PI) dual staining method. Acetone and methanol extracts of S. aculeatissimum exhibited toxic effects at all tested concentrations. However, the water extracts of S. aculeatissimum, B. montana, and A. grandidentata demonstrated low or no cytotoxicity, while the methanol extracts of A. grandidentata, had no harmful effects on Vero cells. The minimal cytotoxic potential of water extracts is particularly significant for their traditional use in treating various illnesses in children. The current study utilised both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial species, including Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Enterobacter hormaechei, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pyogenes in the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of A. grandidentata, B. montana, and S. accutisimum extracts. Methanol and acetone extracts of B. montana exhibited antibacterial activity against 9 and 4 bacterial species, respectively, with MIC values ranging from 2.5 to 1.25 mg/ml. The methanol and acetone extracts of S. aculeatissimum demonstrated the lowest MIC values of 2.5 to 0.625 mg/ml against 9 and 3 bacterial species, respectively. Additionally, A. grandidentata methanol and acetone extracts showed activity against 9 and 3 bacterial species at MIC values of 2.5 to 0.6 mg/ml. Documenting these plants will help preserve this knowledge for future generations and serve as a foundation for developing new drugs to treat childhood illnesses. The phytochemical analysis, toxicity, and antibacterial activity evaluation of A. grandidentata, B. montana, and S. accutisimum extracts justify using the plants to treat some childhood diseases mentioned in the study area.