Ethnopharmacology in Sub‐Sahara Africa: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Moyo, Mack; Aremu, Adeyemi O.; Staden, J. Van

doi:10.1002/9781118930717.ch23

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Globally, intense efforts are being geared towards the documentation of plant resources, with the goal of ensuring their sustainable utilisation and conservation to meet the needs of humans [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Particularly, the need to explore, document and preserve the indigenous knowledge associated with medicinal plants has been identified as one of the seven priorities for strategic action (Shenzhen’s proclamation of 2017) among plant scientists [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, indigenous knowledge embedded in traditional medicine, including the use of medicinal plants, often offers culturally familiar techniques that address both the physical and spiritual state of an individual [ 8 , 9 ]. The inherent benefits such as relative affordability and accessibility of traditional medicine to a significant portion of the global population, especially in developing countries, further highlight the renewed interest from different stakeholders [ 4 , 5 , 10 ]. An increasing number of ethnobotanical studies are being done among diverse tribes and ethnic groups around the world, based on the understanding and acknowledgement of the relevance of plants for therapeutic effects and associated cultural value [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

Lawal

Rafiu

Ale

et al. 2022

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lawal

Rafiu

Ale

et al. 2022

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indigenous knowledge related to medicinal plants is a foundation of primary health care for treatment of several human and animal diseases among local communities, especially in developing countries [5][6][7][8]. Medicinal plants are an integral part of the indigenous knowledge systems which encompass cultural system and a reliable source for local communities for millennia [5,9]. A significant portion of the South African black population consult traditional health practitioners for basic health care needs regarding treatment for diseases such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, cancers, asthma, mental disturbance and for cultural purpose [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Knowledge on the Uses, Sustainability and Conservation of African Ginger (Siphonochilus aethiopicus) among Two Communities in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Harvesting of medicinal plants in the wild has an impact on sustainability of medicinal plants, which leads to the need for intervention in terms of conservation strategies. Siphonochilus aethiopicus, commonly known as African ginger or wild ginger is used to cure a variety of health conditions/illnesses, such as coughs, colds, asthma, nausea, headaches and pains. This study explored the potential role of indigenous knowledge on the uses, sustainability, and conservation strategies for African ginger among two communities in Mpumalanga province. Qualitative method entailing in-depth interviews were used for this research. We used a non-probability sample (snow-balling) to recruit ten (10) participants that comprised of four traditional health practitioners, four knowledge holders and two herbalists, considered as experts on African ginger in the study area. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The diverse indigenous knowledge on the uses of African ginger were divided into two categories (diseases and spiritual/cultural purposes) among the local communities. African ginger is indigenous to South Africa and the plant species in the wild is mainly lost to commercial trade. As revealed by the participants, the multiple uses of African ginger are major contributing factors exacerbating the demands for the plant. The uses of African ginger have resulted in the scarcity and possibly extinction of this plant species in the wild, which remain a major concerns to several stakeholders especially traditional health practitioners. Harvesting of the rhizomes of African ginger is recommended instead of the root given the relative ease and higher chances for survival and regeneration. To ensure the sustainable utilisation of African ginger, its cultivation was recommended by the participants. However, there is a need for further intervention to assess how the community members can be assisted with developing and adopting indigenous conservation protocols for the continuous sustainability of African ginger. In addition, it is pertinent to strongly discourage the indiscriminate destruction of natural habitats and create more awareness on the importance of designating protected areas among local communities.

show abstract

“…Based on indigenous knowledge among different ethnic groups, the use of herbal mixtures or concoctions is often geared at enhancing the effectiveness and safety of the herbal product [17,18]. The importance of establishing the phytochemical profiles, safety and biological efficacy of herbal mixtures cannot be overemphasized [17,[19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemical Profile, Safety and Efficacy of a Herbal Mixture Used for Contraception by Traditional Health Practitioners in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, South Africa

Moroole

Materechera

Otang-Mbeng

et al. 2022

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of medicinal plants for contraception remains a common practice among South African ethnic groups. The present study assessed the phytochemical profile, cytotoxicity, acute oral toxicity and efficacy of a herbal mixture used for contraception by the Batswana of South Africa. An aqueous extract was prepared from equal quantities (in terms of weight) of Bulbine frutescens (roots), Helichrysum caespititium (leaves) and Teucrium trifidum (leaves) based on a recipe used by traditional health practitioners. The phytochemical profiles of the freeze-dried herbal mixture were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition, cytotoxicity was determined using an MTT assay on Vero cells and in vivo contraceptive efficacy was evaluated using seven Sprague Dawley rats per control and treatment groups. The control group received distilled water while test groups received 5, 50 and 300 mg/kg of the herbal mixture, which was administered orally once a day for three consecutive days. Subsequently, female rats were paired 1:1 with males for 3 days. Their weights were measured weekly and incidence of pregnancy was recorded. The GC-MS chromatogram revealed the presence of 12 identified and 9 unidentified compounds. In terms of safety, the herbal mixture had an IC50 value of 755.2 μg/mL and 2000 mg/kg, which was the highest tested dose that caused no mortality or morbidity in the rats. A contraceptive efficacy of 14.5% was exerted with 50 mg/kg herbal mixture extract while other doses had no effects given that all the rats were pregnant. Based on a chi-square test (p < 0.05), there was no correlation between the tested herbal mixture doses and contraception, nor on the weight of the rats. Overall, the herbal mixture extract was found to be safe but had limited contraceptive efficacy at the tested doses. In future studies, exploring increased dose range, solvent extract types and hormonal analysis will be pertinent.

show abstract

Ethnopharmacology in Sub‐Sahara Africa: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Cited by 5 publications

References 71 publications

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

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

Indigenous Knowledge on the Uses, Sustainability and Conservation of African Ginger (Siphonochilus aethiopicus) among Two Communities in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Phytochemical Profile, Safety and Efficacy of a Herbal Mixture Used for Contraception by Traditional Health Practitioners in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, South Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About