West African Herbal Pharmacopoeia West African Health Organization @2013 WAHO WEST AFRICAN HEALTH ORGANISATION (WAHO) BOBO-DIOULASSO (BURKINA FASO) Tel. (226) 20 97 57 75/Fax (226) 20 97 57 72 E-mail : [email protected] Web Site : www.wahooas.org All rights reserved: No part of this publication is to be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or retrieval systems, without written permission of the Director General, West African Health organization. Layout and Printing: KS PRINTCRAFT GH. LTD. P. O. BOX 1074 KNUST JUNCTION KUMASI, GHANA Tel: +233-277412577 WEST AFRICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA WAHP TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………….......II FOREWORD……………………………………………………………………………………………...........IV PREFACE…………………………………………………………………………………………………….....VI INTRODUCTION ...…………………………………………………………………………………………...VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………………………………XII ACACIA NILOTICA…………………………………………………………………………………………..…1 ACACIA SENEGAL……………………………………………………………………………………............6 ADONSONIA DIGITATA…………………………………………………………………………………….…9 AGERATUM CONYZOIDES………………………………………………………………………………….13 ALCHORNEA CORDIFOLIA……………………………………………………………………………..…..17 ALLIUM SATIVUM………………………………………………………………………………………….....22 ALOE SCHWEINFURTHI……………………………………………………………………………………..28 ALOE VERA…………………………………………………………………………………………………....31 ALSTONIA BOONEI…………………………………………………………………………………………..34 ARGEMONE MEXICANA………………………………………………………………………………….....38 AZADIRACHTA INDICA……………………………………………………………………………………...41 BALANITES AEGYPTIACA………………………………………………………………………………….47 BRIDELIA FERRUGINEA……………………………………………………………………………….…....52 CARICA PAPAYA…………………………………………………………………………………………..…58 CINCHONA PUBESCENS……………………………………………………………………………………65 CRYPTOLEPIS SANGUINOLENTA ...…………………………………………………………………..….68 CYMBOPOGON CITRATUS………………………………………………………………………………....72 EUPHORBIA HIRTA………………………………………………………………………………………..…77 HALLEA STIPULOSA……………………………………………………………………………………..….81 HARRISONIA ABYSSINICA………………………………………………………………………………....84 HIBISCUS SABDARIFFA…………………………………………………………………………………….88 HYMENOCARDIA ACIDA ...………………………………………………………………………………....92 KHAYA SENEGALENSIS ...………………………………………………………………………………....96 LAWSONIA INERMIS………………………………………………………………………………………..100 LIPPIA MULTIFLORA…………………………………………………………………………………..…...104 MITRAGYNA INERMIS……………………………………………………………………………………...108 MOMORDICA CHARANTIA………………………………………………………………………………...111 MORINDA LUCIDA………………………………………………………………………………………..…116 MORINGA OLEIFERA……………………………………………………………………………………….120 OCIMUM BASILICUM……………………………………………………………………………..………...126 OCIMUM GRATISSIMUM……………………………………………………………………………..…….130 WAHO Page ii WEST AFRICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA WAHP PHYLLANTHUS NIRURI…………………………………………………………………………………....135 PHYTOLACCA DODECANDRA…………………………………………………………………………...140 PTEROCARPUS ERINACEUS……………………………………………………………………………..145 RAUWOLFIA VOMITORIA……………………………………………………………………………….....148 SARCOCEPHALUS LATIFOLIUS………………………………………………………………………....152 SCLEROCARYA BIRREA………………………………………………………………………………..…156 SCOPARIA DULCIS……………………………………………………………………………………..…..161 SECURIDACA LONGEPEDUNCULATA……………………………………………………………........166 SENNA ALATA ...…………………………………………………………………………………………....171 SENNA ALEXANDRINA………………………………………………………………………………….....176 SENNA OCCIDENTALIS…………………………………………………………………………………....179 SENNA PODOCARPA………………………………………………………………………………….…...185 SOLANUM TORVUM.………………………………………………………………………………………..189 SORGHUM BICOLOR……………………………………………………………………………………….193 SPATHODEA CAMPANULATA …………………………………………………………………………...197 SPERMACOCE VERTICILLATA……………………………………………………………………..…….201 SPONDIAS MOMBIN....……………………………………………………………………………………..204 TETRAPLEURA TETRAPTERA....………………………………………………………………………...208 TINOSPORA BAKIS…………………………………………………………………………………….......212 VERNONIA AMYGDALINA ……………………………………………………………………………......215 VERNONIA COLORATA ...…………………………………………………………………………….…...220 ZANTHOXYLUM XANTHOXYLOIDES ...………………………………………………………………....224 ZINGIBER OFFICINALE………………………………………………………………………………..…...228 INDEX OF SCIENTIFIC PLANT NAMES……………………………………………………………….....234 INDEX OF COMMON NAMES …………………………………………..………………………………....238 INDEX OF DISEASES………………………………………..…………………………...……………...….241 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………………………243 WAHO Page iii WEST AFRICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA WAHP FOREWORD The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of disease dates back to antiquity. Through a combination of instinct, observation, taste, and experience, ancient men and women treated illness by using plants, animal parts, and minerals that were not part of their usual diet. Ancient man learned by trial and error to distinguish useful plants with beneficial effects from those that were harmful or not effective, and also which combinations or processing methods had to be used to gain consistent and optimal results. This knowledge of plant-derived remedies developed gradually and was passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. In the course of time, each community/tribe methodically collected information on medicinal plants and herbs and developed well-defined herbal pharmacopoeias. Indeed, well into the 20th century, much of the pharmacopoeia of conventional medicine was derived from the herbal lore of native peoples and even today many commonly used medicines are of plant origin. Medicinal plants therefore constitute a vital resource that can be harnessed for both health and socioeconomic benefits. Nevertheless, but for the high cost of modern medicines, limited national health budgets and inadequate health facilities, which have compelled many governments to reconsider the advantages of traditional health care systems, the sector has remained largely ignored. Interestingly, with the renewed interest in herbal medicine, there are now growing concerns about their quality, safety and efficacy due to poor methods of preparation, the heavy microbial load characteristic of plants harvested from the wild, non-standardised dosages and limited scientific evidence. In 1978, the World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA31.33 on Medicinal plants which called upon WHO to coordinate the efforts of Member States to develop and apply scientific criteria and methods for proof of safety and efficacy of medicinal plant products, and develop international standards and specifications for identity, purity and strength, especially galenicals, and manufacturing practices. Resolution WHA41.19 on Traditional medicine and medicinal plants adopted in 1988 emphasised the need for international cooperation and coordination to establish a basis for the conservation of medicinal plants, in order to ensure that adequate quantities are available for the use of future generations. These resolutions formally brought the rational and sustainable use and conservation of medicinal plants into the arena of public health policy. Concerns have also been raised about the unregulated exploitation of Africa’s bio-resources, environmental degradation, deforestation, uncontrolled burning and poor agricultural practices leading to depletion of rare and threatened medicinal plant species. Unfortunately, for many countries in the WHO African Region, the necessary legislation for sustainable local production, conservation and protection of medicinal plant species, is limited and even where available, it is not enforced. For its part, the WHO has provided some tools and guidelines that countries could use to adapt to their specific situations to develop and utilize their indigenous systems of medicine. Of particular relevance here are the WHO Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices; Guidelines on the conservation of medicinal plants and WHO Monographs on medicinal plants. Some countries in the African Region have since used these tools, adopted national policies on conservation of medicinal plants or cultivated new medicinal plant varieties and compiled inventories of scientific information on medicinal plants. Saving the African Region's medicinal plant resources vis-à-vis promoting the use of plant medicines for the treatment of diseases needs an effective, sustainable and coordinated strategy. It is against this background that I endorse this herbal pharmacopoeia developed by the West African Health Organisation, a specialized health institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which summarises and reviews the evidence base for some selected medicinal plants common to the ECOWAS member states and also outlines the quality control criteria needed for ensuring their identity, purity, and quality. WAHO Page iv WEST AFRICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA WAHP It is my hope that the ECOWAS Herbal Pharmacopoeia will receive the highest level of patronage from all the member states to improve access to quality health care for the people of the sub-region. Dr Luis Gomes Sambo WHO Regional Director for Africa Brazzaville-Congo WAHO Page v WEST AFRICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA WAHP PREFACE The importance of traditional medicine in providing primary health care (PHC) was recognized by the Alma Ata Declaration adopted by the International Conference on PHC held at Alma Ata, USSR, in September 978. The Alma Ata Declaration called for “health for all by the year 2000”. This conference was followed in 1988 by another in Thailand, at which the Chiang Mai declaration to “save plants that save lives” was made. For economic reasons as well as cultural preferences, many Africans use traditional medicine for their health