Journal of Global Public Health and Healthcare Innovation

(Annual (One issue per year))

ABSTRACT

Background

Flaviviral diseases, including dengue, West Nile virus, Zika virus, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, remain significant public-health threats in tropical and subtropical settings. Severe disease frequently involves dysregulated inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and vascular injury, creating an opportunity for host-directed phytomedicinal interventions. Gongronema latifolium Benth, a West African edible and medicinal plant, has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity in experimental models.

Objective

This narrative review evaluates whether the phytochemical and immunopharmacological profile of G. latifolium provides a scientifically plausible, testable rationale for its investigation as a host-directed candidate in flaviviral diseases, with dengue virus infection as the primary disease model.

Methods

A narrative synthesis was conducted in accordance with the SANRA framework of three bodies of evidence: flaviviral disease biology and host-response pathophysiology; G. latifolium phytochemistry and pharmacology; and plant-extract and phytochemical studies in dengue, West Nile virus and related flaviviral systems. Literature was identified via PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and WHO IRIS up to April 2025.

Conclusion

The available evidence supports plausibility, not proof. G. latifolium’s strongest current rationale is immunomodulatory and antioxidant rather than directly antiviral. Direct anti-flaviviral activity has not been demonstrated and must be empirically tested. A rigorous future research programme should combine extract standardisation, compound profiling, cytotoxicity testing, antiviral assays, cytokine and redox endpoints, NS1-focused host-response experiments and toxicity studies. If conducted carefully, G. latifolium could emerge as a credible Nigeria-relevant candidate for flaviviral host-response research rather than a loosely claimed herbal remedy.

Keywords: Gongronema Latifolium; Dengue Virus; Flavivirus; Host-Directed Therapy; Immunomodulation; Phytomedicine; Oxidative Stress; Narrative Review