An Analysis of the Proven Antibacterial and Immunomodulatory Qualities of Six Chosen Ethnomedicinal Plants that are Utilized by Traditional Healers in the KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Area as a Remedy for Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

Significant bacterial growth and the presence of microbial pathogens anywhere throughout the urinary tract with associated symptoms are signs of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are among the most prevalent bacterial illnesses worldwide. Research has shifted to evaluating locally accessible medicinal plants and their corresponding crude extracts, which contain novel bioactive derivatives, due to the concerning global rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that is causing antibiotic therapy failures. Based on scientific evidence that these medicinal plants are scientifically tested for efficacy and adverse side-effects through rigorous research, testing, and clinical trials, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared traditional medicine to be a safe and effective alternative for treating a variety of illnesses and infections. The use of Euclea crispa, Curtisia dentata, Manihot esculenta, Bulbine natalensis, Catha edulis, and Eucomis bicolor as individual preparations with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wound healing, and immunomodulatory qualities in the treatment of a variety of ailments, as well as in combination as a traditional remedy for UTIs, is encouraged by South African traditional health practitioners (THPs) in the eThekwini Municipality. Triterpenoids, oleanolic acid, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthocyanosides, bulbnatalonosides, sterols, homoisoflavonoids, saponins, and cyclooxygenases are all found in these ethnomedicinal species, and the literature reviewed in this article shows how they work against uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), K. pneumoniae, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, C. albicans, and K. pneumoniae. Therefore, these six South African medicinal herbs are good candidates to prevent UTIs caused by microbes.