PRELIMINARY ETHNOBOTANIC STUDY OF PLANTS USED TO TREAT INFANT DIARRHEA BY THE MITSOGHO PEOPLE IN GABON

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out among the Mitsogho people of thefour (4) villages located from Oyane 4 to Four-Place (Estuaire-Gabon). The objective of this study was firsttodraw up an inventory of plants used in their traditional medicine against infant diarrhea and then to describe the recipes applied by the local population. Sixteen (16) plants species belonging to sixteen (16) genus and eleven (11) families were identified. The most species cited were Sida rhombifolia (18%), Cyathula prostrata (12%), Desmodium adscendens (12%), andPsidium guineense (12%). Those with the lowest frequencies were among others Picralima nitida (6%) and Santiria trimera (6%). The most represented families are Malvaceae (25%), Apocynaceae (12.5%) and Fabaceae (12.5%). The plants inventoried are mainly woody (81%) trunk bark (56%) and leaves (37%) are the most used plant parts. Twenty-two (22) recipes have been described, of which 77% contain a single plant and 23% are mixture.

All around the world, traditional medicine (TM) is either the primary mode of health care delivery or it is an important complement (OMS, 2013). In Africa, medicinal plants are precious resources for most rural population, of whom more than 80% use them for health care (Jiofack et

Choice of study:
The study area, which includes four inhabited areas, is in Estuaire district between Oyane 4 and Four-Place villages (Fig 1), situated in the department of Komo-Kango, less than 100 km from Libreville alongNational Road 1 (N1). The primary health care system is inoperative due to a lack of essential medicines, and none of the four villages surveyed has a drinking water supply system. For their daily needs, people obtain water from wells or directly from rivers. Wastewater, electrification, and sanitation infrastructures are also lacking. This population mainly use single pit latrines, not covered by a slab or platform, to cover their needs. Finally, the practice of traditional medicine is the main economic activity for all these villages. 2. Survey methodology: ethnobotanical survey was carried out based on interviews, guided by a survey sheet, on the plants used in the treatment of childhood diarrhea. Verbal agreement was also obtained from participants after providing them with information explaining the importance of the study and the need for their collaboration. This consent was acquired following our commitment not to disclose the primary composition of the remedy recipes. In addition, participants were made aware of the possibility of sharing with them the possible benefits arising from the use of their knowledge in accordance with the "Nagoya Protocol". This sharing would be subject to mutually agreed terms.
3. Profile of informants: Nine informants (five men and four women), aged between thirty and eighty, voluntarily agreed to participate in the survey. According to their level of training, these informants were classified into three levels of instruction which are illiterate, primary school and high school.  6. Ethnopharmacological analysis: the citation frequencies of the parts used, and the modes of administration by all informants were calculated according to the same formula to also highlight their respective local importance.

Results:-Floristic analysis:
The ethnobotanical survey indicated that 16 species belonging to 16 genera in 11 families are used for the treatment of childhood diarrheal diseases ( Table 1). The sum of the respective occurrences of species and families is 21 and 16 (Table 1). Vernacular names weren't given for two recorded plants.

Ethnopharmacological analysis
The plant parts used for each species along with their respective recurrence are indicated in Table 2. Looking at the number of occurrences of each species, this table reveals that the most used parts are trunk bark (50%) and leaves (33 %). The other parts namely, wood, root bark and inflorescences represent 17%. Wood is used only for Pterocarpus soyauxii and root bark is used only for Uapaca guineensis. Also, the use of inflorescence only concerns the species Cyathula prostrata. Furthermore, the different methods of preparation and administration route are listed for each species in Table 3. During this survey, maceration is the most common method used by traditional healers (43%) to prepare antidiarrheal remedies. This method consists of soaking the plant organ in water for a given time at room temperature. Decoction (39%) which is a process in which the plant is boiled for a period in water is the second method of preparation (Fig 4). Thus, the oral route (Fig 5) remains the main mode of administration (83%). The other route of administration is external in a small portion (17%).

Discussion:-
The results of our study show that, among the Mitsogho people men (56%) are more interested in the practice of traditional medicine than women (44%). This preponderance of Mitsogho men in traditional medicine could be explained by the existence of male initiatic societies and corporations such as the "Bwete" and the "Mweyi", which facilitate the transmission of knowledge between generations. This result corroborates that of Lebbie et al., 2017 who showed that 64% of men had an in-depth knowledge of the use of plants comparatively with women (36%).
The study shows that 80% of these traditional healers have not completed high school, this could be explained by the fact that schooling is compulsory in Gabon until the age of 16.
The present study revealed 16 species used as antidiarrhoeal plants, two of which seem to be new recordings for this purpose. These species belong to 11 families, of which the more represented families are the Malvaceae (25%), Apocynaceae (12.5%) and Fabaceae (12.5%).  Swapna, 2015) . However, its use as anti-diarrheal is rarely mentioned in the literature. Acanthus montanus is used against intestinal helminthiasis and gastritis (Ndip et al., 2007) and Alchornea cordifolia is reported to be effective against dysentery and diarrhea (Obaji et al., 2020).
Overall, the trunk bark is the most used part for the preparation of medicinal recipes. This trend has also been observed by Mbayo et al. (2016). This could be explained by the fact that the branches of trees and shrubs are located above 3 m in height, which makes the leaves inaccessible for harvesting. On the other hand, these woody species are available and do not require much effort to reach them in the forest. . This combination is very suitable for the treatment of diarrheal diseases because it makes it possible to rehydrate patients, especially since drinks are generally taken at will. In this way, the dehydration that could result from diarrhea is avoided or controlled in the treated patients. The other advantage of drug oral administration is that it allows the localization of the deep organs. To reach them, all the compounds must pass through the digestive system, to facilitate their assimilation and their action (Tra Bi et al., 2008).
The medicinal preparation is most often taken at will by the patient and the duration of treatment is conditioned by the disappearance of symptoms. This information is in agreement with the work of Mpondo Mpondo et al., 2017 which revealed that the respondents have no unit of measure concerning the solvents and the preparation time of traditional remedies. Likewise, the dosage of these remedies is uncertain (Mpondo Mpondo et al., 2017).
The medicinal preparation is brewed daily. Indeed, according to Dibong et al. (Dibong et al., 2011), plant organs in the fresh state cannot be preserved because they deteriorate rapidly. These authors also reveal that after five days, the preparation becomes unfit for consumption due to the deterioration of the chemical molecules (Dibong et al., 2011). Although an ethnobotanical survey reveals that Aucoumea klaineana Pierre (Burseraceae) and is used by the Masango people in Gabon to combat diarrhea (Akendengué, 1992 ;Akendengué and Louis, 1994). As well as, Betty et al., 2013b report that Schumaniophyton magnificum (K.Schum.) Harms (Rubiaceae), Xylopia hypolampra Mildbr. (Annonaceae) and Aframomum melegueta (Roscoe) K.Schum. (Zingiberaceae) have antidairrheic claims based on Baka pygmies living on the periphery of the Ipassa Biosphere.

Conclusions and Recommendations:-
The use of plants for the treatment of childhood diarrhea, is an alternative solution in Gabon faced with not only the inaccessibility of health centers and their dysfunction but also the high cost of conventional drugs.
Plants are veritable reservoirs of biomolecules of great interest for human health. However, the chemical instability of medicinal preparations, the lack of knowledge of active ingredients, the uncertainty of dosages about the amounts administered and the duration of treatment are all weaknesses of the current practice of traditional medicine.
The identified plants listed in the study have significant potential value for the manufacture of improved traditional medicines (ITM), which would facilitate the standardization of both their dosage and method of administration.
Although the development of traditional medicine is a potentially powerful alternative in the WHO's poverty alleviation policy, it should be promoted and practiced in a way that is compatible with the sustainable management and conservation of the plant resources on which it depends. Despite the small number of traditional practitioners interviewed and the small number of plants harvested, the trends observed are consistent with other studies in Africa.
The results of this preliminary study are promising and point to the need to conduct further research involving other rural communities throughout Gabon to enrich the checklist of antidiarrheal plants. These new plants will be opportunities to obtain new active compounds Following the ethnobotanical studies, chemical investigations of the plants identified should be carried out to identify the active compounds involved in the treatment of diarrhea.

Author's contribution:
The study was designed by MBOMA and OMBOUMA. The ethnobotanical documentation was produced by MBOMA. MBOMA and OMBOUMA wrote the manuscript.
Professor AKENDENGUE had put her great deal of is experience in Ethnopharmacology to improve he quality of writing in English of this paper and to refine bibliographical research about treated topic. Our collaborators of Benin namely GBAGUIDI and HOUNGBEME of the Faculty of Sciences and Health as well as HOUINATO of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of University of Abomey-Calavi have contributed as reviewer of the manuscrit.

Declaration of conflict of interest:
The researchers declare that there are no competing interests in this published work.