Ethnobotanical Study of Plants Used to Treat Asthma in the Maritime Region in Togo

Abstract

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in modern society and it is evident that its incidence and severity are increasing, however very little is known about the plants used in the management of the disease. This study therefore aimed to document the plants usage in the Togolese traditional medicine to treat asthma. Methodology: From January to June 2015, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire with traditional healers (THs) in the southern region of Togo. The importance of the plants species was assessed by the calculated use values. Results: In Total, 121 THs (92 males and 29 females) were interviewed and 98 plants species belonging to 54 families were identified as curing asthma. The most represented families were: Leguminosae with 7 species followed by Euphorbiaceae and Rutaceae contributing with 6 and 5 species respectively. Based on the calculated use values the most important species were Carcica papaya L., Cataranthus roseus L., Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., Piper guineense Thonn., Eucalyptus citriodora Hook., Eucalyptus globules Labill. and Euphorbia hirta L. The leaves and the root were the parts predominantly used to prepare the formulations, mainly decoctions, administrated by oral route. Clinical manifestations such as wheezing (91.74%), difficulty as speaking or coughing (73.55%), dyspnea (66.94%), dry cough (52.89%), sweating and increased heart rate (52.07%) were used by TH to diagnose the disease. Conclusion: This study showed initial evidence of the use of plant materials by Togolese TH to heal asthma. These results could be a starting point for laboratory screenings.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in Atakpamé, City of Plateau Region in Togo

“…Our finding with respect to a higher proportion of women than men in traditional medicine practice is similar to that of some previous works [5,8,14,15]. But our results differ from those of Gbekley et al [7] and Gnagne et al [16] who found a higher proportion of men than women. Their results could come from the fact that in their studies, the respondents were only traditional therapists.…”

“…According to the WHO, nearly 80% of people in developing countries in Africa use traditional medicine for their health care [2]. Thus, many ethnobotanical surveys have been conducted in many African countries [3,4,5,6] and particularly in Togo [7]. These surveys are aimed at one or more diseases or consist of an inventory of medicinal plants used by the target populations.…”

Ethnobotanical survey, anthelmintic effects and cytotoxicity of plants used for treatment of helminthiasis in the Central and Kara regions of Togo

“…Previous studies have shown that leaves and roots were mostly used for the treatment of asthma [36]. Chi-square was used to compare differences between groups and p value was less than 0.0001 A similar study showed that to treat liver disease, the most used parts of this plant were the leaves and roots, thus extracts of this plant can aid in a broad spectrum of symptoms [37].…”

Traditional Medicinal Plants Conferring Protection Against Ovalbumin-Induced Asthma in Experimental Animals: A Review

“…Moreover, an archive of information on herbal medicine from various cultural backgrounds (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, African and Arabian) for the management and treatment of asthma. [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81] To date, knowledge on the medicinal plants used for asthma medication and their mode of preparations are limited to some herbal medicine practitioners although some clinical and pharmacological evidences are available. 68 Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations to use of these TMPs in clinical practice since the global acceptance and utilisation of herbal medicines is dependent on their safety and efficacy.…”