Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda

Tropical Medicine and Health

Research

John R. S. Tabuti¹  Samuel Baker Obakiro²  Paul Waako²  Alice Nabatanzi³  Godwin Anywar³  Timothy Omara⁴  Michael R. Mutyaba⁵  Cissy Nambejja⁶ 

[1] Department of Environmental Management, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda;Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, P.O. Box 1460, Mbale, Uganda;Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology & Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda;Institute of Chemistry of Renewable Resources, Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), The Tulln University and Research Center (UFT), Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430, Tulln an der Donau, Austria;National Drug Authority, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 23096, Kampala, Uganda;Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute (NCRI), Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 4864, Kampala, Uganda;

关键词: Antimalarial resistance;    Ethnobotany;    Indigenous knowledge;    Malaria;    Medicinal plants;    Traditional medicine;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8

 received in 2023-03-30, accepted in 2023-06-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMalaria remains the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Although recent developments such as malaria vaccine trials inspire optimism, the search for novel antimalarial drugs is urgently needed to control the mounting resistance of Plasmodium species to the available therapies. The present study was conducted to document ethnobotanical knowledge on the plants used to treat symptoms of malaria in Tororo district, a malaria-endemic region of Eastern Uganda.MethodsAn ethnobotanical study was carried out between February 2020 and September 2020 in 12 randomly selected villages of Tororo district. In total, 151 respondents (21 herbalists and 130 non-herbalists) were selected using multistage random sampling method. Their awareness of malaria, treatment-seeking behaviour and herbal treatment practices were obtained using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, paired comparison, preference ranking and informant consensus factor.ResultsA total of 45 plant species belonging to 26 families and 44 genera were used in the preparation of herbal medicines for management of malaria and its symptoms. The most frequently mentioned plant species were Vernonia amygdalina, Chamaecrista nigricans, Aloe nobilis, Warburgia ugandensis, Abrus precatorius, Kedrostis foetidissima, Senna occidentalis, Azadirachta indica and Mangifera indica. Leaves (67.3%) were the most used plant part while maceration (56%) was the major method of herbal remedy preparation. Oral route was the predominant mode of administration with inconsistencies in the posology prescribed.ConclusionThis study showed that the identified medicinal plants in Tororo district, Uganda, are potential sources of new antimalarial drugs. This provides a basis for investigating the antimalarial efficacy, phytochemistry and toxicity of the unstudied species with high percentage use values to validate their use in the management of malaria.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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