Ethnobotanical Survey: A Comprehensive Review of Medicinal Plants Used Against Gastrointestinal Disorders in Niger, West Africa

Context: Gastrointestinal tract, a part of the human digestive system, is an important organ that is vulnerable to different disorders contributing substantially to morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, including in Niger. The majority of the people in Niger still use local medicinal plants to treat these ailments. This study aimed at reviewing the past and actual knowledge about the medicinal plants used to treat gastrointestinal disorders by Nigerien people of different provinces.
Evidence Acquisition: Relevant data about the plant species used to treat gastrointestinal tract disorders were extracted from different studies and reports of the past and current ethnobotanical surveys conducted in Niger for a comprehensive review and a national scale analysis of their use. A statistical approach was used to determine the relative importance index in order to rank all species according to their usefulness.
A total of 140 plant species belonging to 50 families were recorded as being used by the Nigerien population to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Combretaceae (16/50), Mimosaceae (14/50), Caesalpiniaceae (13/50), and Fabaceae (12/50) were the botanical families with the most used species. In this review, Lannea acida, Acacia nilotica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Bauhinia rufescens, Boswellia dalzielli, Combretum micranthum, and Ziziphus mauritiana were ranked as the most cited plants. Phytochemical analyses of the plant extracts revealed the presence of tannins, terpenoids, steroids, and alkaloids in most of the plant species.
The review and analysis of the medicinal plants reported through several ethnomedicinal surveys conducted in Niger have permitted to precisely provide substantial details on the medicinal use of certain plants best to treat gastrointestinal disorders. These baseline comprehensive data could certainly attract most investigators to initiate further research that might lead to the development of new lead-drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.