Zairean Medicinal Plants as Diarrhea Remedies and Their Antibacterial Activities

Abstract

Forty-three species of plants commonly used as diarrhea remedies in Zairean traditional medicine in Kinshasa City were surveyed by ethnobotanical inquieries. The antimicrobial activities of 24 species were studied in vitro against human enteric bacteria. Eight species of the tested plants, Alchornea cordifolia, Bidens pilosa, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Euphorbia hirta, Hymenocardia acida, Ocimum gratissimum, Psidium guajava and Rauwolfia vomitoria, exhibited strong antibacterial activity. Five species were moderately active and eleven species showed weak activity. These results provide a chemical basis for the use of extracts from those plants as diarrhea remedies in folk medicine and for the isolation of compounds of biological interest.