The screening of medicinal plants traditionally used to treat diarrhoea, in Ongoye area, KwaZulu Natal.

Abstract

This study focused on the investigation of plants used for the treatment of diarrhoea around Ongoye forest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study revealed that 35 plant species in this area are used to treat diarrhoea. Acetone, methanol, cold and hot distilled water extracts from the different plant parts (bark, leaves, stems and the whole plant) were done. These plants are: Acacia karoo, Acacia robusta, Acanthospermum australe, Aloe arborescens, Baccharoides adoensis, Calfilepis laureola, Catharanthus roseus, Chenopodium ambrosioids, Chromolaena odarata, Dichrostachys cinerca, Faurea macnaughton, Hewittia mafambaricaa, Hypoxis hemerocalfidea, Ihlaza, Lippia javanica, Maytenus heterophylla, Melia azedarach, Psidium guajava, Schotia brachypetala, Sclerocarya birrea, Syzygium cordatum, Tetradenia riparia, Thchilia dregeana, Ungazini, Vernonia oligocephala and Vernonia tigna. Above mentioned plants were screened for antibacterial activity against the following ATCC bacteria strains: Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia colt, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei. The antibacterial activities were determined by disk-diffusion, agar-well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and bio-autographic methods. The plant extracts were screened for the following phytochemrcals: alkaloids, flavonoids, soponins, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides and tannins. Most of the plant extracts showed high antibacterial activity against most of the tested micro-organisms with the diameter of inhibition zones ranging between 10 and 30 mm. Of the plants studied, the most active extracts were those obtained from the following plants: Acacia robusta, Aloe arborescens, Baccharoides adoensis, Chromolaena odarata, Ihlaza, Lippia javanica, Psidium guajava, Syzygium cordatum, Schotia brachypetala, Tetradenia hparia, and Vemonia tigna. Staphylococcus aureus was the bacterium that was mostly inhibited by almost a!f the plant extracts, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. the least inhibited bacteria strains were Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhii. The MIC values for active extracts ranged between 1 mg/ml and 0.4 mg/ml. The results obtained appeared to confirm the antibacterial potential of the plants investigated, and their potential in the treatment of diarrhoea in the Ongoye area.