Traditional medicine is an important component of the health care system of most developing countries. However, indigenous knowledge about herbal medicines of many Ghanaian cultures has not yet been investigated. The aim of the present study was to document herbal medicines used by traditional healers to treat and manage human diseases and ailments by some communities living in Ghana. The study was conducted in eight communities in southern Ghana. Data were collected from 45 healers using ethnobotanical questionnaire and voucher specimens were collected. A total of 52 species of plants belonging to 28 plant families were reportedly used for treatment and management of 42 diseases and ailments. Medicinal plants were commonly harvested from the wild and degraded lowland areas in the morning from loamy soil. Herbal medicines were prepared in the form of decoctions (67%) and infusions (33%). Oral administration of the herbals was most (77%) common route of administration whereas the least used routes were nasal (1%) and rectal (2%). The results of the study show that herbal medicines are used for treatment and management of both common and specialized human diseases and that factors of place and time are considered important during harvesting of plants for treatments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.