Medicinal Plants Used to Treat ‘African’ Diseases by the Local Communities of Bwambara Sub-county in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance: In Africa, traditional medicine encompasses a diverse range
of practices, including herbalism and spiritualism, where some diseases are believed to be
“African” since they can only be traditionally treated. Indigenous knowledge on the management
of “African” diseases using medicinal plants is still handed down orally from generation to
generation by tribal societies of tropical Africa, and with the rapid westernization of these
societies there is a pressing need to record local knowledge before it is lost forever.
Aim: This study documented medicinal plant species associated with the management of
“African” diseases by the local communities of Bwambara sub-county in Rukungiri district,
Western Uganda.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires and
interviews. The data collected included names of plant species, plant parts used, diseases treated, methods of preparation, and mode of administration of the herbal remedies. A total of 196
informants participated in the study. Data were analyzed and presented using descriptive
statistics and the Informant consensus factor.
Results: We documented 67 medicinal plant species distributed over 27 families and 62 genera.
The most commonly reported species belong to Asteraceae family. The most frequently used
medicinal species were Chenopodium opulifolium (27), Sesbania sesban (26), Thevetia
peruviana (25), Leonotis nepetifolia (23), Momordica foetida (23), Euphorbia hirta (21) and
Cassia mimosoides (20). Leaves were the most commonly used plants parts and decoctions were
the main method of preparation. Water was the main medium used for the preparation of the
remedies which were administered orally while petroleum jelly was the main medium for those
which were used as ointments. The medicinal plant species reported are used to treat 39
conditions which were clustered into 10 International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC)
disease categories. There is a high degree of consensus among the informants on which
medicinal plant species they use for different diseases especially disorders in the following
categories: neurological (FIC = 0.90), general and unspecified (FIC = 0.87), digestive (FIC =
0.86) and female genital (FIC = 0.82).
Conclusion: Local communities of Bwambara sub-county in Rukungiri district, Western
Uganda use a rich diversity of medicinal plant species in the management of various “African”
diseases. Therefore, collaboration between users of medicinal plants and scientists is paramount,
to help in the discovery of new drugs based on indigenous knowledge.
Description
Keywords
African traditional medicine, Medicinal plants, “African” diseases, Bwambara
Citation
Gumisiriza, H., Sesaazi, C.D., Olet, E.A., Kembabazi, O., Birungi, G., Medicinal Plants Used to Treat ‘African’ Diseases by the Local Communities of Bwambara Subcounty in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jep.2020.113578.