Abstract
The malaria hypothesis, which addresses a strong selective pressure on human genes resulting from a chain of processes that originated with the practice of agriculture, is an example of an evolutionary consequence of niche construction. This scenario has led us to formulate the following questions: Are the genetic adaptations of populations with a history of contact with malaria reflected in the local medical systems? Likewise, could environmental changes (deforestation) and the incidence of malaria result in an adaptive response in these local health care systems? We collected secondary data for the entire African continent from different databases and secondary sources and measured the response of health care systems as the variation in the richness of antimalarial medicinal plants. Our results did not indicate a cause-and-effect relationship between the tested variables and the medical systems, but a subsequent analysis of variance showed an increase in the mean of medicinal plants in regions with a higher incidence of malaria prior to disease control measures. We suggest that this response had a greater impact on local medical knowledge than other variables, such as genetic frequency and deforestation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adia, M. M., Anywar, G., Byamukama, R., Kamatenesi-Mugisha, M., Sekagya, Y., Kakudidi, E. K., et al. (2014). Medicinal plants used in malaria treatment by Prometra herbalists in Uganda. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 155, 580–588.
Afrane, Y. A., Little, T. J., Lawson, B. W., Githeko, A. K., & Yan, G. (2008). Deforestation and vectorial capacity of Anopheles gambiae Giles mosquitoes in malaria transmission, Kenya. Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, 14(10), 1533–1538.
Albuquerque, U. P., Ferreira Júnior, W. S., Santoro, F. R., Torres-Ávilez, W. M., & Sousa Júnior, J. R. (2015). Niche construction theory and ethnobiology. In U. P. Albuquerque, P. M. Medeiros, & A. Casas (Eds.), Evolutionary ethnobiology (pp. 73–88). New York, NY: Springer.
Albuquerque, U. P., & Oliveira, R. F. (2007). Is the use-impact on native caatinga species in Brazil reduced by the high species richness of medicinal plants? Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 113(1), 156–170.
Asase, A., Akwetey, G. A., & Achel, D. G. (2010). Ethnopharmacological use of herbal remedies for the treatment of malaria in the Dangme West District of Ghana. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 129, 367–376.
Asase, A., Oteng-Yeboah, A. A., Odamtten, G. T., & Simmonds, M. S. J. (2005). Ethnobotanical study of some Ghanaian anti-malarial plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 99, 273–279.
Barber, M. A., Rice, J. B., & Brown, J. Y. (1932). Malaria studies on the Firestone rubber plantation in Liberia, West Africa. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 15(3), 601–623.
Bartoloni, A., & Zammarchi, L. (2012). Clinical Aspects of Uncomplicated and Severe Malaria. Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, 4(1), e2012026. doi:10.4084/MJHID.2012.026.
Berkes, F. (1999). Sacred ecology: Traditional ecological knowledge and management systems (1st ed., p. 209). Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
Betti, J. L., Iponga, D. M., Yongo, O. D., Mbomio, D. O., Yobo, C. M., & Ngoy, A. (2013). Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants of the Ipassa-Makokou Biosphere Reserve, Gabon: Plants used for treating malaria. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 7(31), 2300–2318.
Bla, B. K., Trebissou, J. N. D., Bidie, A. P., Assi, Y. J., Zirihi-Guede, N., & Djaman, A. J. (2015). Étude ethnopharmacologique des plantes antipaludiques utilisées chez les Baoulé- N’Gban de Toumodi dans le Centre de la Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Applied Biosciences, 85, 7775–7783.
Bodmer, W. F., & Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. (1976). Genetics, evolution, and man (1st ed.). San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Casman, E. A., & Dowlatabadi, H. (2002). The contextual determinants of malaria (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.
Dike, I. P., Obembe, O. O., & Adebiyi, F. E. (2012). Ethnobotanical survey for potential anti-malarial plants in South Western Nigeria. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 144, 618–626.
Doolan, D. L., Dobaño, C., & Baird, J. K. (2009). Acquired immunity to malaria. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 22(1), 13–36. doi:10.1128/CMR.00025-08.
Durham, W. H. (1991). Coevolution: Genes, culture, and human diversity (p. 629). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Elguero, E., Délicat-Loembeta, L. M., Rougerona, V., Arnathaua, C., Rochec, B., Becquarta, P., et al. (2015). Malaria continues to select for sickle cell trait in Central Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(22), 7051–7054.
Ene, A. C., Atawodi, S. E., Ameh, D. A., Kwanashie, H. O., & Agomo, P. U. (2010). Locally used plants for malaria therapy amongst the Hausa, Yoruba and Ibo communities in Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 9(3), 486–490.
Ferreira Júnior, W. S., Nascimento, A. L. B., Ramos, M. A., Medeiros, P. M., Soldati, G. T., Santoro, F. R., et al. (2015). Resilience and adaptation in social-ecological systems. In U. P. Albuquerque, P. M. Medeiros, & A. Casas (Eds.), Evolutionary ethnobiology (pp. 105–119). New York: Springer.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). http://www.fao.org/home/en/. Accessed 01 November 2015.
Gathirwaa, J. W., Rukungaa, G. M., Mwitaria, P. G., Mwikwabea, N. M., Kimania, C. W., Muthauraa, C. N., et al. (2011). Traditional herbal antimalarial therapy in Kilifi district, Kenya. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 134, 434–442.
Gessler, M. C., Msuya, D. E., Nkunya, M. H. H., Mwasumbu, L. B., Shar, A., Heinrich, M., et al. (1995). Traditional healers in Tanzania: The treatment of malaria with plant remedies. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 48, 131–144.
Grosse, S. D., Odame, I., Atrash, H. K., Amendah, D. D., Piel, F. B., & Williams, T. M. (2011). Sickle cell disease in Africa: A neglected cause of early childhood mortality. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(6, suppl. 4), 398–405. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2011.09.013.
Guerra, C. A., Snow, R. W., & Hay, S. I. (2006). A global assessment of closed forests, deforestation and malaria risk. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 100(3), 189.
Hermans, M., Akoègninou, A., & van der Maesen, L. J. G. (2004). Medicinal plants used to treat malaria in Southern Benin. Economic Botany, 58(supplement), 239–252.
Holstein, M. H. (1954). Biology of Anopheles gambiae: Studies in French West Africa (p. 159). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Ijumba, J. N., & Lindsay, S. W. (2001). Impact of irrigation on malaria in Africa: Paddies paradox. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 15(1), 1–11.
Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H., & Shachak, M. (1994). Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 69, 373–386.
Komlaga, G., Agyare, C., Dickson, R. A., Mensah, M. L. K., Annan, K., Loiseau, P. M., et al. (2015). Medicinal plants and finished marketed herbal products used in the treatment of malaria in the Ashanti region, Ghana. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 172, 333–346.
Koudouvoa, K., Karoua, D. S., Kokoua, K., Essiena, K., Aklikokoua, K., Glithob, I. A., et al. (2011). An ethnobotanical study of antimalarial plants in Togo Maritime Region. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 134, 183–190.
Ladio, A. H., & Lozada, M. (2008). Medicinal plant knowledge in rural communities of North-Western Patagonia, Argentina: A resilient practice beyond. In U. P. Albuquerque & M. A. Ramos (Eds.), Current topics in ethnobotany (pp. 39–54). Kerala: Research Signpost.
Lewontin, R. C. (1983). Gene, organism, and environment. In D. S. Bendall (Ed.), Evolution from molecules to men (pp. 273–285). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Livingstone, F. B. (1958). Anthropological implications of sickle cell gene distribution in West Africa. American Anthropologist, 60(3), 533–562.
Lozada, M., Ladio, A., & Weigandt, M. (2006). Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge in a rural community of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Economic Botany, 60(4), 374–385.
Luzzatto, L., Nwachuku-Jarrett, E. S., & Reddy, S. (1970). Increased sickling of parasitised erythrocytes as mechanism of resistance against malaria in the sickle-cell trait. The Lancet, 295(7642), 319–322.
Madureira, M. C., Martins, A. P., Gomes, M., Paiva, J., Cunha, A. P., & Rosário, V. (2002). Antimalarial activity of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in S. Tomé and Príncipe islands. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 81, 23–29.
Malaria Atlas Project (MAP). http://www.map.ox.ac.uk/explorer/. Accessed 01 November 2015.
Medeiros, P. M., Ladio, A. H., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2014). Sampling problems in Brazilian research: A critical evaluation of studies on medicinal plants. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia, 24(2), 103–109.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2010). The PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. International Journal of Surgery, 8(5), 336–341. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2010.02.007.
Muthaura, C. N., Rukungaa, G. M., Chhabra, S. C., Mungaic, G. M., & Njagi, E. N. M. (2007). Traditional antimalarial phytotherapy remedies used by the Kwale community of the Kenyan Coast. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 114, 377–386.
Nascimento, A. L. B., Ferreira Júnior, W. S., Ramos, M. A., Soldati, G. T., Santoro, F. R., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2015). Utilitarian redundancy: Conceptualization and potential applications in ethnobiological research. In U. P. Albuquerque, P. M. Medeiros, & A. Casas (Eds.), Evolutionary ethnobiology (pp. 121–130). New York: Springer.
Nda-Umar, U. I., Gbate, M., Umar, A. N., & Mann, A. (2014). Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used for the treatment of malaria in Nupeland, North Central Nigeria. Global Journal of Research on Medicinal Plants & Indigenous Medicine, 3(4), 112–126.
Ngarivhume, T., van’t Klooster, C. I. E. A., Jong, J. T. V. M., & Van der Westhuizen, J. H. (2015). Medicinal plants used by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria in the Chipinge district in Zimbabwe. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 159, 224–237.
Ngutaa, J. M., Mbariaa, J. M., Gakuyab, D. W., Gathumbic, P. K., & Kiama, S. G. (2010). Antimalarial herbal remedies of Msambweni, Kenya. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 128, 424–432.
Njoroge, G. N., & Bussmann, R. W. (2006). Diversity and utilization of antimalarial ethnophytotherapeutic remedies among the Kikuyus (Central Kenya). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2, 1–7.
Nolan, J., & Robbins, M. (1999). Cultural conservation of medicinal plant use in the Ozarks. Human Organization, 58(1), 67–72.
O’Brien, M. J., & Laland, K. N. (2012). Genes, culture, and agriculture. Current Anthropology, 53(4), 434–470.
Odling-Smee, F. J., Laland, K. N., & Feldman, M. W. (2003). Niche construction: The neglected process in evolution (p. 488). New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Okech, B. A., Gouagna, L. C., Walczak, E., Kabiru, E. W., Beier, J. C., Yan, G., et al. (2004). The development of Plasmodium falciparum in experimentally infected Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) under ambient microhabitat temperature in western Kenya. Acta Tropica, 92(2), 99–108.
Oladele, A. T., & Adewunmi, C. O. (2008). Medicinal plants used in the management of malaria among the traditional medicine practitioners (TPM’s) in South Western Nigeria. African Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2(1), 51–59.
Olson, S. H., Gangnon, R., Silveira, G. A., & Patz, J. A. (2010). Deforestation and malaria in Mancio Lima county, Brazil. Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, 16(7), 1108–1115.
Orwa, J. A., Mwitari, P. G., Matu, E. N., & Rukunga, G. M. (2007). Traditional healers and the management of malaria in Kisumu District, Kenya. East African Medical Journal, 84(2), 51–55.
Perry, B., & Gesler, W. (2000). Physical access to primary health care in Andean Bolivia. Social Science and Medicine, 50(9), 1177–1188.
Piel, F. B., Patil, A. P., Howes, R. E., Nyangiri, O. A., Gething, P. W., Williams, T. N., et al. (2010). Global distribution of the sickle cell gene and geographical confirmation of the malaria hypothesis. Nature Communications, 1, 104.
R Development Core Team. (2010). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at: http://www.R-projects.org.
Randrianarivelojosia, M., Rasidimanana, V. T., Rabarison, H., Cheplogoi, P. K., Ratsimbason, M., Mulholland, D. A., et al. (2003). Plants traditionally prescribed to treat tazo (malaria) in the eastern region of Madagascar. Malaria Journal, 2(25), 1–9.
Romero, G. Q., Gonçalves-Souza, T., Vieira, C., & Koricheva, J. (2014). Ecosystem engineering effects on species diversity across ecosystems: A meta-analysis. Biological Reviews, 90(3), 877–890. doi:10.1111/brv.12138.
Roth, E. F., Friedman, M., Ueda, Y., Tellez, I., Trager, W., & Nagel, R. L. (1978). Sickling rates of human AS red cells infected in vitro with Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Science, 202(4368), 650–652.
Santoro, F. R., Ferreira Júnior, W. S., Araújo, T. A. S., & Ladio, A. H. (2015). Does plant species richness guarantee the resilience of local medical systems? A perspective from utilitarian redundancy. PLoS One, 10(3), e0119826. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119826.
Saotoing, P., VroumsiaToua, Tchobsala, Tchuenguem, F. F. N., Njan Nloga, A. M., & Messi, J. (2011). Medicinal plants used in traditional treatment of malaria in Cameroon. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 3(3), 104–117.
Soldati, G. T., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2012). Ethnobotany in intermedical spaces: The case of the Fulni-ô Indians (Northeastern Brazil). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. doi:10.1155/2012/648469.
Soldati, G. T., Hanazaki, N., Crivos, M., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2015). Does environmental instability favor the production and horizontal transmission of knowledge regarding medicinal plants? A study in Southeast Brazil. PLoS One, 10(5), e0126389. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0126389.
Stangeland, T., Aleleb, P. E., Katuurac, E., & Lyea, K. A. (2011). Plants used to treat malaria in Nyakayojo sub-county, western Uganda. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 137, 154–166.
Tabuti, J. R. S. (2008). Herbal medicines used in the treatment of malaria in Budiope county, Uganda. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 116, 33–42.
Thagriki, D., Dahiru, D., & Yaduma, W. G. (2015). Survey on some indigenous selected medicinal plants used for the treatment of malaria found in Sangere, Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. International Journal of Research in Pharmacy and Biosciences, 2, 21–26.
Tor-anyiin, T. A., Sha’ato, R., & Oluma, H. O. A. (2003). Ethnobotanical Survey of anti-malarial medicinal plants amongst the Tiv people of Nigeria. Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants, 10(3), 61–74.
Traore, M. S., Baldé, M. A., Diallo, M. S. T., Baldé, E. S., Diané, S., Camara, A., et al. (2013). Ethnobotanical survey on medicinal plants used by Guinean traditional healers in the treatment of malaria. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 150, 1145–1153.
Vandebroek, I., Calewaert, J., De Jonckheere, S., Sanca, S., Semo, L., Van Damme, P., et al. (2004). Use of medicinal plants and pharmaceuticals by indigenous communities in the Bolivian Andes and Amazon. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 82(4), 243–250.
Vittor, A. Y., Pan, W., Gilman, R. H., Tielsch, J., Glass, G., Shields, T., et al. (2009). Linking deforestation to malaria in the Amazon: Characterization of the breeding habitat of the principal malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 81(1), 5–12.
Wiesenfeld, S. L. (1967). Sickle-cell trait in human biological and cultural evolution development of agriculture causing increased malaria is bound to gene-pool changes causing malaria reduction. Science, 157(3793), 1134–1140.
Williams, T. N., & Obaro, S. K. (2011). Sickle cell disease and malaria morbidity: A tale with two tails. Trends in Parasitology, 27(7), 315–320.
Yetein, M. H., Houessou, L. G., Lougbégnon, T. O., Teka, O., & Tente, B. (2013). Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used for the treatment of malaria in plateau of Allada, Benin (West Africa). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 146, 154–163.
Zirihi-Guédé, N., N’guessan, K., Etien Dibié, T., & Grellier, P. (2010). Ethnopharmacological study of plants used to treat malaria, in traditional medicine, by Bete Populations of Issia (Côte d’Ivoire). Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 2(4), 216–227.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. F. B. Piel (Imperial College, London) for his availability and courtesy while assisting in the search for data related to the malaria hypothesis; and to National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq) for the productivity grant awarded to UPA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Santoro, F.R., Santos, G.C., Ferreira Júnior, W.S. et al. Testing an Ethnobiological Evolutionary Hypothesis on Plant-Based Remedies to Treat Malaria in Africa. Evol Biol 44, 216–226 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-016-9400-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-016-9400-9