Use of herbal, complementary and alternative medicines among pregnant women in Makoni District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Use of herbal, complementary and alternative medicines during pregnancy, labour and delivery is common in Zimbabwe. This study aimed at documenting herbal, complementary and alternative medicines used during pregnancy in Makoni District in Zimbabwe. Snowballing was used to select 66 participants which included herbalists (45.5%), traditional birth attendants (18.2%), traditional healers (15.2%), and assistant traditional healers and herbal medicine vendors (10.6% each). Pregnant women in the study areaused a total of 47 plant species from 27 families, and 14 non-plant products as herbal, complementary and alternative medicines by. A total of 26 medical cases were treated with the majority of medicinal plants and non-plant products,used to dilate or widen the birth canal (55.3%) and to augment labour or speed up the delivery process (46.8%). This study showed that herbal, complementary and alternative medicines play an important role in the provision of basic health care in Zimbabwe.

Medicinal uses of the Asteraceae family in Zimbabwe: A historical and ecological perspective

“…Research by Nyagumbo et al (2022) showed that medicinal plants and plant-derived medicines are widely used in peri-urban, rural and marginalized areas of Zimbabwe and they are becoming increasingly popular as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. The plant family Asteraceae (Compositae) has contributed several plant species to traditional pharmacopoeia in Zimbabwe (Gelfand et al 1985, Maroyi 2013, Chituku et al 2022, Nyagumbo et al 2022. The Asteraceae often referred to as composite, daisy, aster or sunflower family, is one of the largest plant families with over 32000 accepted species divided into over 1900 genera and 13 subfamilies (Panéro & Funk 2002, Panéro et al 2014.…”

Family Araliaceae in Southern Africa: A Review of Ethnobotanical Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Toxicology

“…Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times to treat and manage various human and animal diseases and ailments. In some communities, medicinal plants are an important aspect of their daily lives and a crucial part of their cultural heritage [12,13]. In the last 70 years, documentation of medicinal uses of species belonging to the family Araliaceae has expanded in southern Africa [14][15][16][17][18].…”