Adeyemi, OO, Alabi, AS, Adeyemi, OA et al. (4 more authors) (2021) Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community. PLOS ONE, 16 (10). e0257837. ISSN 1932-6203
Abstract
Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the highest cause of mortality worldwide in children under the age of 5 years, with the highest mortalities occurring in low-to-middle income countries. Treatment can involve use of unregulated herbal medication and antibiotics. A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications in the management of AGE among Yòrùbá-speaking communities in Kwara State, Nigeria. Our findings suggest habitual use of antibiotics (54.6%) and herbal medication (42.5%) in the management of AGE with high levels of self-prescription of antibiotics (21.7%) and herbal medications (36.2%) within the community. Ethanolic extracts of selected herbal plants reported (i.e. Aristolochia ringens, Azadirachta indica, Chromolaena odorata, Etanda Africana, Ficus capensis, Ficus vogelii, Mangifera indica, Momordica charantia, Ocimum gratisimum, Senna alata, Sorghum bicolor and Vernonia amygdalina) were investigated for antibacterial properties, using bacteria known to be causative agents of AGE. Our findings showed that, with exception of Ficus vogelii, which enhanced bacterial growth, the plant extracts reported all showed some antibacterial activity. We further discuss our findings within a regulatory context, with the aim to guide the use of traditional and herbal medication in low-to medium income countries (LMICs) and reduce the potential risks associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Adeyemi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (Leeds) > Molecular Virology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Nov 2021 14:19 |
Last Modified: | 02 Nov 2021 14:19 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0257837 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:179866 |