Cameroonian medicinal plants used in the management of oral diseases: An updated review

Abstract

Oral diseases which encompass a range of diseases and conditions that affect the oral cavity continue to be a major health problem worldwide. Several studies have investigated Cameroonian medicinal plants used for dental care, but a review study measuring the progress of research in this field is lacking in the country. This study aims to provide a state of knowledge on medicinal plants used in managing oral diseases in Cameroon. Authentic information was obtained using search engines such as Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar. Several scientific databases were consulted including Research Gate, Science Direct, PubMed. Information collected included: botanical names, plant parts used, chemical content, mode of preparation, type of disease treated, and mode of administration. A total of 94 plants were recorded in this survey. The commonly used plants come from the Euphorbiaceae with 9 species followed by Asteraceae family with 8 species and Fabaceae families with 7 species. The leaves were the dominant plant parts used (25 % citations). The most frequently cited mode of preparing medicinal herbs for oral treatment was by decoction, accounting for 41 % of citations. Mouthwash, gargling, and direct applications are the prominent modes of administering medication for oral diseases with frequencies of 32 %, 27 %, and 23 % respectively. Toothache was the predominant oral disease treated by the identified plants (47 % citations). The checklist of medicinal plants recorded in the present review thus proves to be a raw material for a diversity of secondary metabolites of diverse biological properties (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-ulcerogenic, antitumor, etc). For herbal dental care products development, Cameroonian medicinal plants are raw materials of great potential for innovation and development.