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The Abagusii people of Western Kenya have rich traditional medicine practices which have remained scantly documented. The current study sort to review relevant ethnomedicinal information which was extracted from relevantbooks, journals and theses that were published before March 2021. Also, online electronic databases accessed between April 2020 to March 2021 were used. After identifying potential literature sources, an inventory of medicinal plants used by the Abagusii community was created using Excel Spreadsheet (Microsoft 365) and analyzed qualitatively. Informant Consensus Factor values were computed as a measure of homogeneity. Two hundred and fifteen plant species, mostly belonging to Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, and Solanaceae families, were identified and 870 use reports were documented. Further, our findings revealed that most plants were used to treat intestinal/gastric diseases, skin infections, disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and syndromes. Plant parts and forms used commonly were the leaves and herbs, respectively. The Abagusii people mostly prepare plant medicines as decoctions, often for drinking orally to treat diseases. It was noted that there was substantial sharing of ethnomedicinal information on various diseases among the people of Kisii and Nyamira Counties, except for anthrax, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and evil eyes conditions, which lacked homogeneity. Our study revealed the integral role of medicinal plants in promoting health among the Abagusii community of Kenya in managing various diseases. Our study lays a framework for empirical studies towards validating medical plants of the Abagusii people managing various ailments and potential development of alternative, efficacious, affordable, accessible, and safe therapeutic remedies.

The Phytexponent is used to treat pain and inflammation in complementary and alternative medicine practices; however, empirical data supporting its pharmacological efficacy and safety is scanty, hence the present study. We used the carrageenan-induced paw oedema and the acetic acid-induced writhing techniques to determine the anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacies, respectively, of the Phytexponent in Swiss albino mice models. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay technique was used to investigate the in vitrocytotoxic effects of the Phytexponent in the Vero E6 cell line. The Phytexponent exerted significant (P< .05) anti-inflammatory effects in the carrageenan-induced paw oedema mouse model in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with significantly higher efficacy at 250 mg/Kg BW, than indomethacin (4 mg/Kg BW), in the first, second, and third hour (P< .05). Besides, the Phytexponent significantly reduced the acetic acid-induced writhing frequency in mice (P< .05), in a dose-dependent manner, depicting its analgesic efficacy. Notably, the Phytexponent (at doses: 125 mg/Kg BW and 250 mg/Kg BW) exhibited significantly higher analgesic efficacy than the Indomethacin (P<.05). Moreover, the Phytexponent was not cytotoxic to Vero E6 cells (CC50>1000 µg/ml) compared to cyclophosphamide (CC50= 2.48 µg/ml). Thus, the Phytexponent has significant in vivoanti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy in mice models and is not cytotoxic to Vero E6 cell line, depicting its therapeutic potential upon further empirical investigation.

The root and leaf extracts of Launaea cornutahave been locally used in traditional medicine for decades to manage inflammatory conditions and other oxidative-stress-related syndromes; however, their pharmacologic efficacy has not been scientifically investigated and validated. Accordingly, we investigated the in vitroantioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory (in vitro, ex vivo,and in vivo) efficacy, acute oral toxicity, and qualitative phytochemical composition of the aqueous root extract of L. cornuta. The ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the 2,2-diphenyl-2-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test methods were used to determine the studied plant extract’s antioxidant activity. Besides, the anti-inflammatory efficacy of the studied plant extract was investigated using in vitro(anti-proteinase and protein denaturation), ex vivo(membrane stabilization), and in vivo(carrageenan-induced paw oedema in Swiss albino mice) methods. The studied plant extract demonstrated significant in vitroantioxidant effects, which were evidenced by higher DPPH radical scavenging and FRAP activities, in a concentration-dependent manner (p< 0.05). Generally, the studied plant extract exhibited significant in vitro, ex vivo,and in vivoanti-inflammatory efficacy, respectively, and in a concentration/dose-dependent manner compared with respective controls (p< 0.05). Moreover, the studied plant extract did not cause any observable signs of acute oral toxicity, even at the cut-off dose of 2000 mg/Kg BW (LD50> 2000 mg/Kg BW), and was thus considered safe. Additionally, qualitative phytochemistry revealed the presence of various antioxidant- and anti-inflammatory-associated phytochemicals, which were deemed responsible for the reported pharmacologic efficacy. Further studies to characterise bioactive molecules and their mode(s) of pharmacologic efficacy are encouraged.

Oxidative stress has been recognized as a key driver of many ailments affecting humankind. Free radicals attack biologically important biomolecules, impairing their functioning, thereby initiating and exacerbating diseases. As a comeback, antioxidant therapies have been proposed as novel approaches to ameliorating oxidative stress–associated diseases including chronic ones. Antioxidants are thought to employ multifaceted and multitargeted mechanisms that either restore oxidative homeostasis or prevent free radical buildup in the body, which overwhelm the endogenous defenses. Plants have been used for many ages across time to manage human diseases, and have a host of antioxidant phytocompounds. Piliostigma thonningiiis traditionally used for the management of inflammation, malaria fever, rheumatism, and insanity, among other diseases caused by a disturbed redox state in the body. In this study, in vitroantioxidant activities of the methanolic and aqueous stem bark extracts of P. thonningiiwere evaluated using the in vitroantilipid peroxidation, the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, and the ferric reducing antioxidant power assay methods. The obtained results revealed remarkable antioxidant activities of the studied plant extracts as evidenced by the low IC50and EC50values. These antioxidant activities could be due to the presence of antioxidant phytochemicals like flavonoids, carotenoids, tannins, and phenols, among others. Therefore, the therapeutic potency of this plant could be due to its antioxidant properties. This study recommends in vivoantioxidant efficacy testing of the studied plant extracts, as well as isolation and characterization of bioactive antioxidant compounds that are potent against oxidative stress.