Aims: This study aimed to collect data on ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacognostic evaluation of Bidens engleri, Ageratum conyzoides, and Acanthospermum hispidum, three species of the Asteraceae family commonly found in Burkina Faso.
Methods: Ethnomedicinal data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and discussions with local language practitioners. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and lipoxygenase inhibitory assays were used to determine antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, respectively. Phenolic compounds were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed using spectrophotometric, histochemical, and thin-layer chromatography methods.
Results: Surveys revealed multiple traditional uses of the three species for treating various pathologies. Histochemical and phytochemical analyses characterized the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, sterols, triterpenes, and saponosides in all three plants. Bidens engleri had the highest contents of total phenolics (19.38 ± 0.35 mg GAE/100 mg), total flavonols (1.47 ± 0.08 mg QE/100 mg), and tannins (16.79 ± 0.72 mg TAE/100 mg). However, Acanthospermum hispidum possessed the highest total flavonoid content (6.07 ± 0.12 mg QE/100 mg). Caffeic acid and rutin were identified in the methanolic extract of Acanthospermum hispidum, and rutin in that of Ageratum conyzoides, using thin-layer chromatography. Bidens engleri exhibited the best DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC₅₀ of 14.97 ± 0.06 μg/mL and the highest lipoxygenase inhibition (70.59 ± 4.16%) at a concentration of 100 μg/mL.
Conclusions: These scientific findings may justify the traditional use of these plants in Burkina Faso for the treatment of oxidative stress-related, inflammatory, microbial, and parasitic diseases.
Keywords: Asteraceae, ethnomedicinal, phenolics, thin-layer chromatography, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory.
Ethnomedicinal, pharmacognostical, Asteraceae, Bidens engleri, Acanthospermum hispidum, Ageratum conyzoides, Burkina Faso