BackgroundThis paper reports an ethnobotanical study that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local communities to treat human and livestock ailments. A cross-sectional study was undertaken from September 2009 to June 2010 in Wayu Tuka District of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The aim of the study is to document medicinal plants used by local people of the study area and the threats currently affecting medicinal plants.MethodsEthnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations and group discussion in which 63 (41 men & 22 women) randomly selected informants participated. Of which, 11 (10 male and 1 female) were local healers. Paired comparison method, direct matrix ranking and Informant consensus factors (ICF) were used to analyze the importance of some plant species.ResultsA total of 126 medicinal plant species, distributed in 108 genera and 56 families, were collected together with their medicinal uses. Of the 126 species of medicinal plants collected from the study area, eighty six (68%) were obtained from the wild whereas thirty three (26%) were from homegardens. The Fabaceae came out as a leading family with 15 medicinal species while the Solanaceae followed with eight species. Seventy eight (62%) of the medicinal plants were reported as being used for treating human ailments, 23 (18.2%) for the treatment of livestock ailments and 25 (20%) for both. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (43%), followed by roots (18.5%) while crushing, which accounted for (29%) and powdering (28%) were the widely used methods of preparation of traditional herbal medicines.ConclusionThe number of reported medicinal plants and their uses by the local people of the District indicate the depth of the local indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants and their application. The documented medicinal plants can serve as a basis for future investigation of modern drug.

This paper reports an ethnobotanical study that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local communities to treat human diseases. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out from June 25 to September 5, 2015, in Berbere district of Oromia region, Ethiopia. The study focused on documentation of medicinal plants used to treat various human diseases in the study area. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semistructured interviews, group discussion, guided field walks, and observations with participants. Preference ranking, paired comparison, direct matrix ranking, and informant consensus factors (ICF) were used to analyze the importance of some plant species. A total of 70 medicinal plants, distributed in 56 genera and 46 families, were collected and identified. Plant family with the highest medicinal plants in the study area used for various diseases treatment was Euphorbiaceae (11.4%). The result of growth form analysis showed that shrubs constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants (48.6%). Roots, 43 (44.8%), were the most frequently utilized plant parts for preparation of traditional herbal medicines. Crushing was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies where oral administration (37.5%) was the dominant route. The highest informants consensus factor (ICF) values were linked to gonorrhea and syphilis disease (0.95); the lowest was linked with external parasites and wound (0.69). Local people in the study area possess traditional knowledge of medicinal plants to treat various human ailments; however, agricultural expansion and disinterest of young generation became the major threat to medicinal plants. It is, therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, and herbal preparation. To save medicinal plants from further loss, involving local communities in cultivation of the most utilized medicinal plants is recommended.

This paper presents a review of relevant antidiarrhoeal medicinal plants based on the fundamental knowledge accumulated by indigenous people of Ethiopia. The review includes an inventory carried out on the phytochemical and pharmacological analysis of plant species used in the treatments of diarrhoeal diseases. This study is based on a review of the literature published in scientific journals, books, theses, proceedings, and reports. A total of 132 medicinal plants used by local people of Ethiopia are reported in the reviewed literature. Herbs (43.6%) were the primary source of medicinal plants, followed by trees (27%). Some findings include the predominance of leaf material used (78%), as well as the frequent use of crushing of the plant parts (38%) as a mode of preparation. This study demonstrates the importance of traditional medicines in the treatment of basic human ailments such as diarrhoeal diseases in Ethiopia. Baseline information gaps were observed in different regions of Ethiopia. Thus, documentation of the knowledge held by other regions of Ethiopia that have so far received less attention and urban ethnobotany is recommended for future ethnobotanical studies. In addition, phytochemical studies are recommended mainly on frequently utilized medicinal plants for treatment of diarrhoeal diseases which can serve as a basis for future investigation of modern drug development. Although societies in Ethiopia have long used medicinal plants for diarrhoeal diseases treatment, it is also a good practice to perform toxicological tests.

Background: Water quality problems are one of the manifestations of poverty and most developing countries including Ethiopia suffering a lot of health problems associated with consumption of contaminated water. Although communities living in urban areas of Ethiopia have access to piped water supply, cross-contamination in the distribution system and unsafe storage are the major source of water borne diseases hence they are mostly overlooked by water professionals.Results: All water samples collected from drinking water storage tanks were positive for total coliforms and faecal coliforms. The result of this study showed that the drinking water was microbially contaminated in all sampling points. The level of microbial contamination increased from before entering the storage tank to after leaving the storage tank indicating that the presence of leakage in the distribution system and contamination at the storage tanks. The turbidity was found in the safe water quality range (2.1-2.9 NTU). Conclusion:The current study indicated that all water samples were bacteriologically contaminated and none of them met the WHO maximum permissible limit of drinking water quality. The unsafe piped-water supply was attributed to both leakage and contamination in the distribution system or unsafe storage. Thus, detail risk assessment should be conducted from treatment to distribution including storage and safe handling of water at the point of use in order to provide complete intervention strategies in tackling waterborne diseases.

This paper presents a review of relevant medicinal plants used for toothache treatment in Ethiopia. This finding is based on a review of the literature published in scientific journals. A total of 130 medicinal plants, distributed in 117 genera and 62 families, are reported in the reviewed literature. Of the 130 species of medicinal plants reported in the literature, ninety-two (70.7%) were obtained from the wild whereas twelve (9.2%) were from home gardens. Shrubs (34.6%) were the primary source of medicinal plants, followed by herbs (30%). The Asteraceae came out as a leading family with 12 medicinal species while the Fabaceae followed with nine. Some findings include the predominance of root material used (31%), followed by leaves (29%). This study demonstrates the importance of traditional medicines in the treatment of toothache in Ethiopia. It is essential for the health of users to phytochemically demonstrate the effects of medicinal plants for their possible therapeutic applications. Hence, future phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies should give due consideration on frequently reported medicinal plants in order to produce natural drugs that could be effective in toothache treatment and without side effects.

This study was conducted on medicinal plants used for the treatment of human and livestock ailments in Basona Werana District, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field walk observation, preference, and direct matrix ranking with randomly and purposefully selected informants. A total of 80 respondents (46 men and 14 women) and 20 (16 men and 4 women) traditional healers participated in this study. A total of 76 plant species distributed in 75 genera and 45 families were collected and identified. Of the 76 medicinal plants collected from the study area, 85.5% were used to treat human ailments. The Lamiaceae came out as a leading family with 8 (10.5%) species followed by Asteraceae and 7 (9%) medicinal plant species each, while Solanaceae followed with 6 (7.8%) species. The majority of medicinal plants were collected from wild habitat and accounted for 56 plant species (73.6%). The result of growth form analysis showed that herbs constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants represented by 33 species (43.4%), followed by shrubs with 30 species (39.4%) and trees with 10 species (13.1%). The medicinal plants were administered through oral, which accounts for 54 species (48.1%), followed by dermal with 38 species (33.9%) and nasal with 9 species (8%), respectively. Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts for the preparation of traditional herbal medicines in the study area. Crushing was the widely used preparation method (33.9%) followed by pounding (16%). Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich. was the most preferred plant used to treat stomachache. Phytochemical and pharmacological studies of this type of plant are recommended to get the most out of the plant.

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High concentrations of fluoride in drinking water is a public health concern globally and of critical importance in the Rift Valley region. As a low-cost water treatment option, the defluoridation capacity of locally available iron ore was investigated. Residence time, pH, agitation rate, particle size of the adsorbent, sorbent dose, initial fluoride concentration and the effect of co-existing anions were assessed. The sorption kinetics was found to follow pseudo-first-order rate and the experimental equilibrium sorption data fitted reasonably well to the Freundlich model. The sorption capacity of iron ore for fluoride was 1.72 mg/g and the equilibrium was attained after 120 min at the optimum pH of 6. The sorption study was also carried out at natural pH conditions using natural ground water samples and the fluoride level was reduced from 14.22 to 1.17 mg/L (below the WHO maximum permissible limit). Overall, we concluded that iron ore can be used in water treatment for fluoride removal in the Rift Valley region and beyond.