Ethnobotanical survey and antibacterial activity of some plants used in Guinean traditional medicine.

A total of 418 healers have been interviewed in Guinea, a coastal country of West Africa, ranging between 7 degrees 30 and 12 degrees 30 of northern latitude and 8 degrees and 15 degrees of western longitude. Plant species used by the local inhabitants to treat infectious diseases were identified using ethnobotanical, ethnographic and taxonomic methods. During these investigations, 218 plants were registered, of which the following were the most frequently used: Erythrina senegalensis, Bridelia ferruginea, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Ximenia americana, Annona senegalensis, Cochlospermum tinctorium, Cochlospermum planchonii, Lantana camara, Costus afer, Psidium guajava, Terminalia glaucescens, Uapaca somon and Swartzia madagascariensis. Most plants, and especially the leaves, were essentially used as a decoction. In order to assess antibacterial activity, 190 recipes were prepared and biologically tested, among which six showed activity (minimal inhibitory concentration<125 microg/ml) against Bacillus cereus, Mycobacterium fortuitum, Staphylococcus aureus, or Candida albicans, i.e., Entada africana, Chlorophora regia, Erythrina senegalensis, Harrisonia abyssinica, Uvaria tomentosa, and a mixture of six plants consisting of Swartzia madagascariensis, Isoberlinia doka, Annona senegalensis, Gardenia ternifolia, Terminalia glaucescens and Erythrina senegalensis.