African Herbal Plants used as Anti-Malarial Agents - A Review

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by single-celled obligate parasite known as Plasmodium and is transmitted to man through the vector Anopheles mosquito. It has persistently been a major public health problem to the global community. As estimate has shown that globally, about 3.3 billion people were at risk of malaria in the year 2011. It has now been ranked among the world's top killer infectious diseases and remains the most prominent cause of death and illness in Africa particularly among pregnant women and children under the age of five years. Due to the development of drug-resistance by the malaria parasites and also the development of resistance to various insecticides by the vector, development of new antimalarial agents is imperative and herbal plants have for long been a major source of new drug discovery. Consequently, in various African countries, several plants have been reported to be having antimalarial effects and are being applied traditionally as antimalarial agents. The purpose of this review article therefore, is to collate and document different plants used traditionally as antimalarials in six African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Ethopia, Benin, Cameroon and Togo). One hundred and fifteen herbal plants from the six African countries have been captured in this article due to their local usage as antimalarial agents. The array of medicinal plants employed as antimalarial agents in Africa, unveils a promising source for the development of new and better antimalarial drugs. Scientific investigations should therefore be carried-out on them.