Local knowledge, practices, challenges of ethnopharmacologically used medicinal plants in Benin and implications for brain illnesses.

Traditional medicine (TM) is a significant resource for primary healthcare management all over the world, and principally in Africa. Quality improvement activities that promote evidence-based practices and the integration of traditional medicine into primary healthcare systems can help improve the quality of patient care. In the Republic of Benin (West Africa), traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) provide different treatments and ways of use, depending on the ailments and the medicinal plants used. The present study aimed at documenting the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Beninese TMPs regarding the use of medicinal plants and the challenges associated with their activities. A focus group survey was conducted using semi-structured interviews with a sample of 91 TMPs in 8 departments of the Republic of Benin. The respondents had an average age of 50 years old and belonged to various categories of TMPs. Medicinal plants are harvested depending on the season and time of the day, and are dried in the shade before being used as decoctions or infusions. Nevertheless, the majority of TMPs do not conduct the necessary tests for quality control, efficacy or toxicity of the proposed remedies, which raises several scientific interrogations, particularly for the treatment of mental and brain-related disorders. Among ~ 110 plants used in the treatment of several pathologies, 66 were revealed as threatened species. The challenges faced by TMPs are mainly material, financial and technical difficulties. The present study reports the importance of intervention to modernize TM practices in Benin. Quality improvement could enhance healthcare delivery and provide support for evidence-based interventions aimed at addressing behavioral, social, and environmental determinants of health.

Chemical variation of essential oil constituents of Ocimum gratissimum L. from Benin, and impact on antimicrobial properties and toxicity against Artemia salina leach.

To determine the period of harvest that optimizes the antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of Ocimum gratissimum L. from Benin, aerial plant parts were collected at two vegetative stages (pre- and full-flowering) and three sampling times (7 am, 1 pm, and 7 pm). Extraction by hydrodistillation yielded between 0.65 and 0.78% of essential oils. Characterization of the oils by GC-FID and GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of monoterpenes (87.26-93.81%), sesquiterpenes (5.57-11.34%), and aliphatic compounds (0.15-0.18%), with p-cymene (1; 28.08-53.82%), thymol (2; 3.32-29.13%), γ-terpinene (3; 1.11-10.91%), α-thujene (4; 3.37-10.77%), and ß-myrcene (5; 4.24-8.28%) as major components. Two chemotypes were observed, i.e., a p-cymene/thymol and a p-cymene chemotype, for plants harvested at 7 am for the former and at 1 pm or 7 pm for the latter, respectively. The oils were fungicidal against Candida albicans, with the sample from full-flowering plants collected at 7 am being the most active (MIC = 0.06±0.00 mg/ml). The chemical variation of the oils also influenced the antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus; the most active oil was obtained from plants at the pre-flowering stage collected at 7 am (MIC=0.24±0.01 mg/ml). Escherichia coli was insensitive to the chemical variation of the oils (MICs of ca. 0.48±0.02 mg/ml for all oils). Moreover, the essential oils showed low toxicity against Artemia salina Leach larvae, with LC(50) values in the range of 43-146 µg/ml. This is the first study of the interaction between the daytime of collection and vegetative stage of the plants and the antimicrobial properties and toxicity of the essential oil of O. gratissimum from Benin.