Nigerian Medicinal Plants for the Management of Liver Diseases: A Review
Anthony Chibuzor Nnamudi
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Vincent Onyekachukwu Onyeche
National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New-Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria.
Osamudiamen Ebohon
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Agbara-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria.
Ijeoma Nina Eke- Ogaranya
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The liver, despite its crucial role in metabolism is prone to several metabolic injuries and insults manifesting as liver damage. Thus, liver diseases arise from multiple aetiologies. In Nigeria, chronic liver diseases are rampant and constitute a significant cause of morbidity. Globally, medicinal plants play crucial roles in healthcare. Several Nigerian medicinal plants are used in the management of various liver disorders. This review focuses on medicinal plants that are used in the management of liver diseases in Nigeria. The search for novel active principles from plants must be sustained due to increasing prevalence of various liver ailments, challenges associated with liver transplantation and poor healthcare funding. The identification, isolation and characterization of active compounds from Nigerian medicinal plants could lead to the potential development of affordable and effective drugs for the management of liver diseases.
Keywords: Liver disease, Medicinal plants, Nigeria, Ethnomedicine, Hepatoprotective