Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Bromatology and Human Nutrition, CP 205-9, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Nov 18;138(2):415-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.09.025. Epub 2011 Sep 22.
Liver diseases represent a major health problem due to their complications and limited treatment possibilities. In Rwanda, given low accessibility to modern treatments, most people still rely on traditional medicinal plants. The symptomatology of many hepatic troubles (icterus) is evident for traditional healers who have a high probability of selecting efficient herbal medicines.
To document medicines used in the treatment of "hepatitis" in Southern Rwanda with the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to liver disorder recognition, control and treatment.
56 traditional health practitioners, each a legal representative of an official association, were interviewed and participated in plant collection for the preparation of botanically identified herbarium specimens.
68 multi-component and 65 single-component herbal recipes were identified for the treatment of liver diseases with a total of 86 different herbs from 34 families identified. The most represented were the Asteraceae and the Lamiaceae. Crassocephalum vitellinum, Hypoestes triflora and Erythrina abyssinica were the most widely used plants. The principle of polymedication for complex (i.e. multifactorial) diseases ("Ifumbi" in Rwanda), is a constant in every traditional practice. It is striking that the Rwandese therapy of liver diseases proposes so many single-herb preparations (49% of all herbal preparations). Some of the recorded plants or other species from the same genus have previously been documented for liver protection using various in vivo and in vitro models.
Herbal remedies for hepatitis are widely used and highly diverse in Southern Rwanda; further chemical, pharmacological and toxicological studies are clearly required to rationally develop the most important remedies.
由于肝脏疾病的并发症和有限的治疗选择，它们是一个主要的健康问题。在卢旺达，由于现代治疗方法的可及性较低，大多数人仍然依赖传统药用植物。传统治疗师对许多肝脏疾病（黄疸）的症状有很高的认识，他们很有可能选择有效的草药。
记录卢旺达南部用于治疗“肝炎”的药物，以及与肝脏疾病识别、控制和治疗相关的知识、态度和做法。
对 56 名传统卫生工作者进行了访谈，他们每个人都是一个官方协会的合法代表，并参与了植物采集，以制备植物学鉴定的标本。
共发现 68 种多成分和 65 种单成分草药配方用于治疗肝脏疾病，共有 86 种不同的草药来自 34 个科。最常见的是菊科和唇形科。假蓬、三花矮陀陀和长叶相思是使用最广泛的植物。多药治疗复杂（即多因素）疾病（卢旺达语为“ Ifumbi ”）的原则是每一种传统实践的共同点。令人惊讶的是，卢旺达治疗肝脏疾病的方法提出了如此多的单一草药制剂（所有草药制剂的 49%）。一些记录的植物或同一属的其他物种以前曾被记录用于肝脏保护，使用各种体内和体外模型。
卢旺达南部广泛使用和高度多样化的草药治疗肝炎；为了合理开发最重要的疗法，显然需要进行更多的化学、药理学和毒理学研究。
