Nowadays, water treatment is a big issue in rural areas especially in African countries. Due to lack of water purification facilities or the high cost of modern water treatment technologies, attempts have been made to find alternative natural methods to treat drinking water. Through an investigation of knowledge about traditional practices based on plant materials to disinfect drinking water, some precious indications were highlighted and compared with modern literature data. The botanical species used were listed, applied protocols were described with emphasis on natural compounds involved in antimicrobial activity. In addition, the cited plants were analysed regarding their applicability, costs, availability, and sustainability. Challenges on the water treatment methods by using plants are presented to help future development of easy, low-cost and sustainable water disinfection strategies in developing counties. In this way traditional knowledge will not be lost but valorized in a modern way with scientific knowledge to reach SDG6 on the water for the needs of populations.

Botanical material, Drinking water, Disinfection, Microbial contaminants