World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

Kenya's vision 2030 partly aims at ensuring adequate health care for all, and the integration of traditional healthcare practices into the national healthcare system would present a more rapid alternative towards the realization of universal health coverage in Kenya. Currently, research on Kenyan medicinal plants with potential antibacterial activity remains vastly fragmented across numerous literature studies and databases; thus, it is imperative to collate and appraise these data for the ease of future research and possible clinical application. Objective. This review aims at exploring and compiling research evidence on medicinal plants used in the management of bacterial infections in Kenya, with a focus on their efficacy and safety. Methodology. A comprehensive web-based systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was executed to highlight the Kenyan medicinal plants used for the management of bacterial infections in Kenya. This review includes studies published until January 2021 from the PubMed, Science Direct, AJOL, and Google Scholar databases. Results. A total of 105 Kenyan medicinal plants belonging to 43 families have their in vitro activity against various human pathogenic bacteria evaluated. Plants from the Lamiaceae, Rutaceae, and Fabaceae families were the most commonly studied. Aloe secundiflora, Toddalia asiatica, Senna didymobotrya, Warbugia ugandensis, Tithonia diversifolia, Fuerstia africana, Olea africana, and Harrisonia abyssinica were the plants frequently evaluated within Kenya. The plants with the strongest antimicrobial activities were Toddalia asiatica, Hagenia abyssinica, Ocimum gratissimum, Harrisonia abyssinica, Senna didymobotrya, Olea Africana, Camellia sinensis, and Tarmarindus indica. Conclusion. Based on a published work, it is evident that traditional medicine is seemingly an acceptable and efficient system among Kenyan communities in the management of bacterial infections. Kenya's rich biodiversity with diverse secondary metabolites presents a promising source of new therapeutic alternatives with possibly different mechanisms of action against bacteria.

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A Systematic Review of Medicinal Plants of Kenya used in the Management of Bacterial Infections

Traditional medicinal uses, pharmacology, phytochemistry, and distribution of the Genus Fagaropsis (Rutaceae).

The present study was conducted to evaluate preliminary phytochemical analysis and in vitro antioxidant activities of five plants (Olea europaea, Kigelia africana, Terminalia mollis, Croton macrostachyus and Bridella micrantha extracts). The plants were collected from Baringo County in Kenya, dried, pulverized into fine powders and extracted using methanol. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, aminoacids and proteins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, tannins and triterpenoids. The root extracts were further investigated for their potential antioxidant activity by using radical scavenging DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) technique. Methanol extract of Original Research Article Wafula et al.; JAMPS, 23(3): 8-17, 2021; Article no.JAMPS.67260 9 roots from the plants showed significant differences in DPPH radical scavenging activities. The results were concluded that extracts have a more secondary metabolites and potential source of antioxidants, which is warranty to evaluate further in vivo pharmacological studies.

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Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant Activity and Inhibitory Potential of Five Kenyan Medicinal Plants

Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2018.

Pharmacological and phytochemical evaluation of seven plants used for microbial-related ailments in South African traditional medicine.

Background : Medicinal plants are widely used by the local people to treat various human diseases cause by drug resistant microorganisms. For instance, Kigelia Africana fruits and barks are boiled in water and taken orally as a laxative in treating stomach ailments, Ekebergia capensis bark is boiled in water and use for the control of gonorrhea and tuberculosis while Fagaropsis angolensis stem bark is used to treat pneumonia, back ache and joins. The efficacy and safety of most of these plants has not been determined. Objective : The present study seeks to determine antimicrobial activities and cytotoxicity of the selected medicinal plants indicated above, that are commonly used to treat infectious diseases. Materials and Methods : Fresh plants were collected from the field; air dried ground and extracted using acetone and water. The extracts were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities using Staphylococcus aureus , Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella dysentriae, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans , Microsporum gypseum and Trychophyton mentagrophytes. The methods were disc diffusion and broth dilution methods while in vitro cytotoxicity test was carried out following a modified rapid calorimetric assay, using actively dividing sub-confluent Vero E6 cells. Results : In disc diffusion assay, water extracts of E. capensis were the most active (14.7 mm) while those of Fagaropsis angolensis were the least (6.0 mm) against S. aureus . Acetone extracts of E. capensis and K. Africana had a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of 3.125 mg/ml and 6.25 mg/ml respectively and were bactericidal. Cytotoxicity showed that K. africana was not cytotoxic against Vero cell lines while acetone extracts of E. capensis was moderately toxic with a CC 50 (µg/ml) of 12.5. Conclusion: These results support the use of the plants in the traditional medicine as antimicrobials and they can be exploited for novel drugs. Key words : Antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity, Kigelia africana, Ekebergia capensis, Fagaropsis angolensis

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Nicholas K. Kimutai

Papers

Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of selected medicinal plants found in Nandi County, Kenya