Research Article Open Access

Medicinal Plant Species Used for Formulation of Herbal Products Against Liver Diseases in Ghana; A Field Survey and Review

Abstract

Hepatic disorders are conditions that affect the structure and function of the human liver. Causes include microbes and their toxins, ionizing radiations and abuse of drugs. Medicinal plant products have been an alternative for the management of these diseases due to the expensive, unavailability and harmful side effects of pharmaceutical drugs. The aim of this study was to determine whether plant species used in preparing herbal medicinal products for treatment of liver diseases have reported hepatoprotective activity. A field survey was conducted using information from television, radio, marketing vans to identify the medicines and purchased them from the herbal shops. The plant species and parts used in manufacturing were extracted from the product insert and the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Council log book. A search was conducted on Google Scholar, PubMed and Elsevier databases on hepatoprotection activity of the plant species. In all, 56 plants species were used by 20 manufacturing companies in producing 25 herbal medicinal products. Khaya senegalenesis was the most predominant plant species used (9/25, 36.0% products). In terms of parts, leaves (40/56, 71.4% of plant species) were the most prevalent part used. On databases, 41/56 (73.2%) plant species had hepatoprotective activity while 15 (26.8%) had no data for hepatoprotective activity. Cratagus oxyacanthea was the plant species with most parts reported parts (7 different parts). Moringa oleifera was most extracted (7 different solvents) and most tested against hepatotoxicity induced with 20 different toxicants. There is sufficient scientific data on hepatotoxicity activity of plant species used for herbal formulations against liver disorders. Practitioners and Researchers should focus on isolation and testing of the active phytochemicals.

Dongsogo Julius1*, Larbie Christopher2, Idrissu Abdul Mumeen1, Regina Appiah-Oppong3, Benjamin Emikpe4, Daniel A. Abera5

To read the full article Download Full Article