Gender and socio-economic factors influencing domestication of indigenous medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains, northern Tanzania

Abstract

The limited capacity of governments in developing countries to service primary health care has resulted in a rapid increase in use of indigenous medicinal plants. This increase, together with other biological and non-biological factors, has rendered these plants vulnerable to over-use and extirpation. Domestication is a conservation intervention that can relieve pressure on medicinal species. In order to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of an intervention, understanding the influencing factors is imperative. We examined the influence of gender and some socio-economic factors on domestication of medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains of northern Tanzania. Participatory wealth ranking, structured and semi-structured interviews, botanical surveys and participant observations were employed in data collection. Results showed that domestication has played a fundamental role in conservation of medicinal plants in the study area. Forty (89%) and twelve (27%) of forty-five indigenous plant species were domesticated on farms and around homesteads, respectively. A total of 89% of respondents (n ¼ 173) had domesticated medicinal plants on their farms and around homesteads. Gender was the most important factor that influenced this practice, with more male-headed than female-headed households involved in the domestication effort. This can be attributed to social and cultural factors that, besides dispossessing women of tenure rights over resources and land, also subject them to heavy workloads and therefore diminish the time available for plant domestication. The number of domesticated medicinal plants also depended on age, affluence, farm size, household size and ethnicity. We recommend that agroforestry research should focus not only on integrating forest plants in farmlands, but also on cultural, socio-economic and institutional aspects affecting the whole system of domestication.

Ethnopharmacology and Therapeutic Value of Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill. in Tropical Africa: A Comprehensive Review

“…Methanol extract of B. micrantha exhibited a zone of inhibition of 7 to 19 mm against S. aureus and S. typhi respectively [ 74 ]. These documented antibacterial properties of B. micrantha corroborate the traditional uses of the species against bacterial infections such as cough in Cameroon, DRC, Nigeria and Zimbabwe [ 16 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 28 , 32 , 33 ], diarrhoea in Cameroon, DRC, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania [ 2 , 9 , 16 , 22 , 25 , 32 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], dysentery in Burundi, Cameroon, DRC, Gambia and Nigeria [ 16 , 33 , 36 , 42 , 43 ], sexually transmitted diseases in Guinea-Bissau and Kenya [ 47 , 60 , 63 ], stomach ache in Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania [ 38 , 41 , 47 , 48 , 51 , 60 ], syphilis in Sierra Leone and Uganda [ 61 , 65 ] and venereal diseases in Kenya and South Africa [ 2 , 23 , 25 , 38 ].…”

“…B. micrantha aqueous and organic bark extracts showed 89.4% and 80.7% dead worms higher than the negative control [ 79 ]. These anthelmintic evaluations are of importance in the traditional use of B. micrantha against tape worms in Cameroon [ 32 ], Ghana [ 34 ], Kenya [ 38 , 60 ], Nigeria [ 41 ], South Africa [ 2 , 25 ], Tanzania [ 9 ] and Uganda [ 15 ] and will also play an important role in future research focusing on control and management of worm infections in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…B. micrantha has been identified as one of the few plant species that should be integrated in the domestication process in farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa to support medicinal, nutritional and income security of local communities through household use and marketing of its fresh or dried fruits [ 7 ]. At present, B. micrantha is domesticated as a fruit tree in Malawi [ 8 ] and as a medicinal tree in Tanzania [ 9 ]. Due to its popularity as a herbal medicine, B. micrantha is sold as such in the herbal medicine or “ muthi ” markets in Cameroon [ 10 ], Malawi [ 11 ], Nigeria [ 12 ] and South Africa [ 13 ].…”

Participatory Forest Management in West Usambara Tanzania: What Is the Community Perception on Success?

“…The WUMs, as a stretch of the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAMs) [40], lie in latitudes 4 • 05 to 5 • 00 and longitudes 38 • 05 to 38 • 40 , from Kenya (Taita Hills) to Tanzania (from Pare toward the Udzungwa Mountains). Three forest types characterise WUMs based on elevation, including those at the foothills, medium level, and the highlands [41]. A large population (over 50%) in Eastern Africa inhabit the Eastern Arc Highlands, which creates an immense pressure on important ecosystem services that originate from the mountains that influence these regions [42].…”

“…However, many years of interconnectedness and intermarriages have caused the culture to overlap [37]. The Usambaras experience a bimodal rain pattern with long rains known as Masika (March-May) and short rains known as Vuli (October-December) [39,41]. The precipitation averages from 600 to above 1200 mm annually, with the altitude determining the variation in temperatures [50] .…”