An ethno-botanical survey of medicinal plants used in the treatment of fracture and dislocation in Ogugu, Kogi State Nigeria

Abstract

The documented information on traditional medicinal plants in Ogugu communities of Kogi State is vague and limited to its species and thus very little research has been done on these medicinal plants. An Ethno-botanical study was conducted to take inventory of the species by the inhabitants of various communities in Ogugu, Olamaboro Local Government area of Kogi State in bone fracture treatment and dislocation. The study was carried out between May through September 2019. Ethnomedicinal knowledge was gathered from 20 traditional bone setters in 10 communities using questionnaires. The plants most referenced from the questionnaire were collected and identified using various standard methods and procedures. 80% of the respondents were male while 20% were female. 40% were in the range of 31-41 years of age and only 10% were in the age range of 20-30 years. About 45% has no formal education while only 5% had a university degree. TBS with most year of experience (21-25 years) are only 5% while the profession is dominated by those of moderate time of practice (11-15 years) with 40% representative. A total of 49 medicinal plant species distributed in 27 families and genera were documented. Family Euphorbiaceae was found to be mostly used for fracture treatment. The most frequent used plant parts were the leaves (49.5%). The method of preparation of the herbal remedies were generally best in the form of poultice administered in the form of paste to give the best result in fracture and bone setting treatment.