West African Medicinal Plant Substances and Molecules Activities Against Viral Hepatitis B and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global public health problem with devastating consequences, such as hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, approved treatments are limited to interferon and nucleoside/nucleotide analogues for chronic hepatitis B and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery for cancer. Both treatments have their limitations, making complete cure an elusive goal. Therefore, the identification of new therapeutic targets using medicinal plants and the development of new antiviral and anticancer strategies are of utmost importance.

Objective: The aim of this review is to identify from the literature the substances and molecules of West African flora involved in the fight against chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer and to provide a summary of their mechanisms of action.

Methods: Pubmed, HAL open science, and Google Scholar literature search engines were used to identify medicinal plants and molecules from the West African flora.

Results: Among West African countries, Gambia and Niger had the highest prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection, and 09 West African countries had high rates of liver cancer. A number of studies carried out in Mali, Benin, Senegal, and Burkina Faso enabled us to list anti-HBV and anticancer plants, as well as a number of molecules isolated from plants found in West African regions.

Conclusion: By offering a glimpse into the world of anti-HBV and anticancer molecules from West Africa, this review provides valuable information to support the future development of herbal antiviral and anticancer drugs.