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DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1697321
Ethnomedicinal use, chemical composition and in vitro pharmacology of the termite species Macrotermes bellicosus used in traditional medicine in Benin
Publication History
Publication Date:
09 September 2019 (online)
Insects and insect-derived products play a vital role in traditional medicine in many parts of the world. Among these fungus-growing termites like Macrotermes bellicosus (M. bellicosus) are widely used in nutrition and traditional medicine in various societies in tropical Africa. Aim of the present study was to explore the traditional applications of M. bellicosus and subsequently investigate the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of termite samples collected in Benin.
Thus, an ethnomedicinal survey with thirty active healers in Benin was conducted and the influence of an ethanolic extract of M. bellicosus on LPS-induced TNFα release from human macrophages and IL-8 release from cytokine-challenged intestinal epithelial cells was measured by ELISA. Furthermore, spasmolytic activity was determined using isometric contraction measurement and antimicrobial properties were assed using agar diffusion and microdilution assay.
The survey of 30 active healers revealed that M. bellicosus are used in Benin therapeutically mainly to treat infectious and inflammatory diseases including digestive disorders, snake bites and diarrhea. Major compounds identified using a pattern recognition strategy based on 13C NMR include benzohydroquinone, 2-methylhydroquinone, niacinamide, ethyl-hexopyranoside, 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylglycol and N-[2-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl]acetamide. M. bellicosus extract inhibited TNFα and IL-8 release from stimulated human macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells comparable to budesonide. In addition, the extract demonstrated antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, E. coli as well as K. pneumoniae as well as mild spasmolytic properties.
M. bellicosus is used in traditional medicine in Benin to treat infectious and inflammatory diseases. Its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties are supporting pharmacological features for the traditional therapeutic application.