Phytochemical screening of selected medicinal plants used against diarrhea in Niger, West Africa

Abstract

Medicinal plants including Lannea acida, Acacia nilotica, Bauhinia rufescens, Boswellia dalzielli, Combretum micranthum, Sclerocarya birrea, Prosopis americana and Combretum nigricans are the main herbal agents traditionally used by most Niger people to treat diarrhea. To value the traditional use of these plants, different organs were collected, dried, powdered and separately extracted using water, methanol and ethanol. The alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin, tannin, steroid, triterpenoid and phenol contents in all these plants were estimated using standard methods. It was observed that all eight plants contained flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids, saponins and phenols. The alkaloids were present in all plants except Sclerocarya birrea. Our study indicates that the all medicinal plants selected in the present work are rich in phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids, saponins and phenols. The presence of these important chemicals groups could permit to justify their traditional usage against diarrhea.