Medicinal Plants Used in Composition of Anti-Viral Hepatitis Recipes in Burkina Faso: Ethnobotanical Study

Abstract

Viral hepatitis is an inflammatory disease of the liver cells caused by cytopathic viruses. It constitutes a major public health problem. The aim of the present study was to identify the recipes used in the treatment of viral hepatitis in four cities of Burkina Faso and to select the most requested recipe for further analysis. Semi-structured interviews in the local language were conducted by the "snowball" technique among traditional medicine practitioners from May to October 2021. A total of 280 traditional healers (80.35% men) were interviewed and 74 species of medicinal plants belonging to 42 botanical families used in composition of 168 anti-viral hepatitis recipes were identified. The most frequently used organs were roots, followed by barks and then leaves with proportions of 34.64%, 26.07% and 20% respectively. Decoction (54,29%) and drinking (77,14%) are respectively the main method of preparation and administration of drugs. The study allowed the selection of one recipe that will be subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological analyses in order to isolate the molecules with hepatoprotective properties.