Medicinal plants used by the people of Nsukka Local Government Area, south-eastern Nigeria for the treatment of malaria: An ethnobotanical survey

Malaria is a serious public health problem especially in sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria. The causative parasite is increasingly developing resistance to the existing drugs. There is urgent need for alternative and affordable therapy from medicinal plants which have been used by the in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethnopharmacology 2018-05, Vol.218, p.1-15
Main Authors: Odoh, Uchenna E., Uzor, Philip F., Eze, Chidimma L., Akunne, Theophine C., Onyegbulam, Chukwuma M., Osadebe, Patience O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anti-malarial compounds
Anti-plasmodium
Antimalarials - therapeutic use
Ethnobotanical survey
Ethnobotany
Ethnopharmacology
Female
Humans
Malaria
Malaria - drug therapy
Male
Medicine, African Traditional
Middle Aged
Nigeria
Nsukka
Phytotherapy
Plants, Medicinal
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Malaria is a serious public health problem especially in sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria. The causative parasite is increasingly developing resistance to the existing drugs. There is urgent need for alternative and affordable therapy from medicinal plants which have been used by the indigenous people for many years. This study was conducted to document the medicinal plant species traditionally used by the people of Nsukka Local Government Area in south-eastern Nigeria for the treatment of malaria. A total of 213 respondents, represented by women (59.2%) and men (40.8%), were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results were analysed and discussed in the context of previously published information on anti-malarial and phytochemical studies of the identified plants. The survey revealed that 50 plant species belonging to 30 botanical families were used in this region for the treatment of malaria. The most cited families were Apocynaceae (13.3%), Annonaceae (10.0%), Asteraceae (10.0%), Lamiaceae (10.0%), Poaceae (10.0%), Rubiaceae (10.0%) and Rutaceae (10.0%). The most cited plant species were Azadirachta indica (11.3%), Mangifera indica (9.1%), Carica papaya (8.5%), Cymbopogon citratus (8.5%) and Psidium guajava (8.5%). The present findings showed that the people of Nsukka use a large variety of plants for the treatment of malaria. The identified plants are currently undergoing screening for anti-malarial, toxicity and chemical studies in our laboratory. [Display omitted]
ISSN:0378-8741
1872-7573
DOI:10.1016/j.jep.2018.02.034