Malaria in Guinean Rural Areas: Prevalence, Management, and Ethnotherapeutic Investigations in Dionfo, Sub-Prefecture of Labe<superscript>#</superscript>.

As part of a validation program of antimalarial traditional recipes, an ethnotherapeutic approach was applied in Dionfo, a meso-endemic Guinean rural area where conventional health facilities are insufficient. A prevalence investigation indicated a malarial burden of 4.26%. Ethnomedical and ethnobotanical surveys led to a collection of 63 plant species used against malaria from which Terminalia albida (Combretaceae) was one of the most cited. Ethnotherapeutic evaluation of a remedy based on T. albida was applied to 9 voluntary patients suffering from uncomplicated malaria. Treatment of 7 to 14 days led to an improvement of clinical symptoms and a complete parasite clearance achievement of 8/9 patients without side effects. In addition to antiplasmodial activity in vitro and in vivo previously described, this study indicates an efficacy to support the antimalarial traditional use of T. albida , which could constitute a first-aid treatment when access to other medicines is delayed in the Dionfo community. Ethnotherapeutical investigation could be a valuable approach to guide subsequent investigations on traditional remedies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]