Ethnopharmacological survey of different uses of seven medicinal plants from Mali, (West Africa) in the regions Doila, Kolokani and Siby

Abstract

An ethnopharmacological survey was carried out to collect information on the use of seven medicinal plants in rural areas in the nearby regions of Bamako, Mali. The plants were Opilia celtidifolia, Anthocleista djalonensis, Erythrina senegalensis, Heliotropium indicum, Trichilia emetica, Piliostigma thonningii and Cochlospermum tinctorium About 50 medical indications were reported for the use of these plants in traditional medicine. The most frequent ailments reported were malaria, abdominal pain and dermatitis. The highest number of usages was reported for the treatment of malaria (22%). The majority of the remedies were prepared from freshly collected plant material from the wild and from a single species only. They were mainly taken orally, but some applications were prepared with a mixture of plants or ingredients such as honey, sugar, salt, ginger and pepper. Decoction of the leaves was the main form of preparation (65%) and leaf powder was mostly used for the preparation of infusions (13%). The part of the plants most frequently used was the leaves. There was a high degree of informant consensus for the species and their medicinal indications between the healers interviewed.The results of this study showed that people are still dependent on medicinal plants in these rural areas of Mali.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Edible Plants Sold in Katsina Metropolis Markets

“…This is in consistent with the findings of other ethno-medicinal studies in Africa like Uganda, Ethiopia and Mali [18].…”

Etude ethnobotanique des plantes utilisées contre le paludisme par les tradithérapeutes et herboristes dans le district d’Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

“…Cela s'explique par le fait qu'en Côte d'Ivoire, la vente dans les marchés est une activité habituellement investie par les femmes. Par contre, sur les marchés de Dakar, au Sénégal (Dasylva, 2001), au Burkina-Faso (Sanon et al, 2002) et au Mali (Togola et al, 2005), les hommes sont les plus nombreux dans le commerce des plantes. Cela pourrait s'expliquer par la différence de l'environnement et des traits socioculturels entre les populations de ces contrées et les populations du district d'Abidjan.…”

Traditional medicine practitioners’ knowledge and views on treatment of pregnant women in three regions of Mali

“…These regions were selected due to the geographic proximity to The Department of Traditional Medicine at the National Institute of Research in Public Health in Bamako and previous collaboration with the TPs in these regions [6-8]. The main ethnic groups in these three regions are the Bambara who are mostly farmers and speak the local language Bambara.…”