Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used in snakebites in North Western Nigeria

Abstract

The incidence of snake bite in rural West Africa is reportedly high with an 11-17% mortality rate. Nigeria has one third of the cases for snake bite cases in this region.Thus, most tribes in Northwestern part of Nigeria depend on medicinal plants for snakebites. However, it appears that a gap exists on documentation of these plants especially tropical flora used in the management of snake bite. This led to increase depletion of medicinal plant resources and knowledge of their traditional use. Consequently, this survey provided knowledge and data on medicinal plants use in management of snake bite which will help retard the current rate of extinction and decimation of the medicinal plants in these areas and then provide need to conserve what is left as medicinal plants for posterity sake. The study was carried in three northwestern states of Nigeria namely Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara for three months. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered and fourteen respondents made up of herb sellers (7%), traditional medical practitioners (93%). The majority of the respondents were male (100%) and 34% were above 50 years of age. From the study, the data collected shows 25 medicinal plants were in use by different categories of practitioners. Botanical names, local names, family names, plant part (s) use and number of citations were also obtained and documented.

Phenolic Content, Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Antihyperglycemic, and α-Amylase Inhibitory Activities of Aqueous Extract of Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl

“…Aromatic and medicinal plants have played a crucial role in the treatment and prevention of a wide range of diseases for thousands of years [ 1 ]. The therapeutic uses of herbs are based on plant chemistry [ 2 ].…”

Traditional medicinal plants used in the treatment of diabetes: Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies and mechanisms of action

“…Also, in southern Algeria, the investigation realized by Telli et al (2016) showed that among 289 diabetic patients interviewed, 60.90% use antidiabetic plants. However, only 28.30% use medicinal plants among 470 people with diabetes interviewed in southwestern and northwestern Algeria (Rachid et al, 2012). This difference may be related to the degree of availability of plants (vegetal cover) and the degree of attachment to traditional medicine by societies.…”

“…This result is in accordance with those revealed by other Algerian scientists. The results of Rachid et al (2012) showed that more than 36% of type 2 diabetic patients used medicinal plants but only 17.16% in type 1 diabetes cases. Similarly, Allali et al (2008) have noticed during their ethnobotanical study that more than 66% of type 2 diabetic patients used plants against 33.8% only in the type 1 diabetic population.…”

“…In addition to pharmacological agents, many plants are used as a complementary treatment by a significant percentage of diabetic patients (Allali et al, 2008). To conserve and enhance the Algerian heritage in medicinal plants, some ethnobotanical studies are conducted in some regions, particularly in the south and west of the country (Allali et al, 2008;Rachid et al, 2012;Telli et al, 2016). The results obtained from these studies confirm that the Algerian population is highly attached to phytotherapy and traditional treatment.…”

Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal tree species used in the treatment of diseases by forest-fringe communities of Southwestern Ghana

“…As a result, global advocacy for increased research for documenting traditional medicinal knowledge and conservation of medicinal plants has also increased significantly in recent times ([ 2 , 11 , 19 , 21 ]). Though the study of medicinal plants has been explored from diverse perspectives, one area receiving increased research interest in recent times is the study of medicinal plants using ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological approaches ([ [10] , [11] , [12] , 17 , 21 , 22 ]). These authors have argued that such knowledge is critical for developing medicinal plants and discovering new drugs ([ 11 , 12 ]).…”