Screening Among Some Eastern Africa'S Indigenous Plants For Their Biotechnological Potential

In Africa, as in many tropical countries, about 80% of the rural population still depends on traditional medicine and therefore to the use of plant extracts due to the accessibility to herbal medicines, the limited availability and affordability of pharmaceuticals. Traditional medicine, still massively used as an alternative medicine in some countries including developing countries, is mostly a non-conventional medicine due to the absence of the clinical study. People consume these plants randomly without knowing their origin, dosage and their action on the body which complicate state of their health and even being fatal. This references-based article it is a screening attempt on three indigenous medicinal plants, respectively Bidens pilosa, Ocimum suave, Tribulus terrestris from the Eastern African area which are described in terms of botanical, physiological and biochemical aspects. These three plants are annual plants used as laxatives, analgesics, antimalaria, antidiabetic, antihelmintics, aphrodisiacs, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic, haemostatic, and antimicrobials. These plants are not sufficiently characterized for the active biological compounds and it will be subject for further studies to prove their biotechnological potential.