Ethnobotanical Survey of Local Flora Used for Medicinal Purposes among Indigenous People in Five Areas in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Traditional medicine is typically the most accessible primary healthcare for a large proportion of the people in Nigeria. However, its potential remains under-explored, especially with regards to their documentation. This research investigated and documented the use of medicinal plants in the management of various health conditions/diseases among local populations in Lagos State. This study was conducted in five (5) locations of Lagos State i.e., Alimosho, Badagry, Eti-Osa, and Epe (including Ijebu and Imota). Ethnobotanical information from 100 participants was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires. Frequency of citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), fidelity level (FL), and informant consensus factor (ICF) were used to assess the importance of plants utilised for various health conditions/diseases. We identified 183 plants from 61 plant families with the highest number (24) of plants belonging to Fabaceae. Based on the high FC, the top-five popular plants used for managing health conditions/diseases in the study areas were Mangifera indica (95%), Waltheria indica (93%), Zingiber officinale (87%), Alchornea cordifolia (83%) and Ipomoea involucrata (81%). Furthermore, Rauvolfia vomitoria, Urena lobata and Waltheria indica were recognised as the most adaptable plants, as they were used to treat five different health conditions/diseases. The most commonly used life-forms were herbs (34%) and woody species (shrubs; 30%, and trees; 22%). The most regularly used plant parts were leaves. The calculated RFC values for all medicinal plant species ranged from 0.01 to 0.95, while FL values ranged from 7.14 to 100%. We found 14 health conditions/diseases, with ICF values ranging from 0.88 to 0.95. Insomnia, insanity, convulsion, nervousness, and muscle relaxants had the lowest (ICF = 0.88) agreement, while malaria/fevers, stomach, and respiratory-related diseases had the most (ICF = 0.95) agreement. The documented therapeutic uses of the plants provide basic data for further research aimed at pharmacological and conservation studies of the most important flora existing in the study areas.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of COVID-19 and Related Respiratory Infections in Ogbomosho South and North Local Government Areas, Oyo State, Nigeria

“…This result may be attributed to the fact that the practice of traditional medicine or herbalism does not require a degree but is acquired by experience and learning from older generations [ 36 ]. Our result is in line with an ethnobotanical survey of local flora used for medicinal purposes conducted in Lagos, Nigeria, which reported that 79% of the participants with indigenous knowledge had only a primary education [ 39 ].…”

“…However, leaves were the most commonly used plant part for treating COVID-19 (39%) and flu (31%), while the bark (20%) was the most commonly used part for treating cough ( Figure 3 ). Several previous studies in Nigeria have also reported that leaves and bark were more utilized in the traditional treatment of different ailments than other plant parts [ 24 , 39 , 40 ]. The widespread use of leaves for herbal medicine preparation may be attributed to their relatively high abundance, accessibility, and ease of collection [ 42 ].…”

“…The indices can be used to rank medicinal plant species based on their acclaimed efficacy, cultural significance, and value. Additionally, these indices are valuable tools that give cues for further scientific investigation of medicinal plant species to discover their therapeutically bioactive constituents and for setting conservation and sustainable use plans [ 39 ]. In the present study, RF, RFC, and FL were used to determine the importance of the identified medicinal plant species used for treating and preventing COVID-19, cough, and flu in the study area ( Table 2 ).…”

“…Hence, the proof of concept is lacking. Additionally, the medicinal importance of plants and their cultural value cannot be summed up by numbers but are rather better obtained from a critical evaluation of the primary data based on the scope and objectives of the research [ 39 , 49 ].…”

Floristic and Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Plants of Ranapur Reserve Forest, Odisha, India

“…Analysis of data reveals various species that have ethnobotanical importance and used for various purposes by the indigenous people of the area. The local herbs particularly medicinal species even today assume a significant job in the financial inspire of the rustic zones and different privately created drugs are as yet being utilized as family unit solutions for different ailments [14][15][16].…”