Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda
Abstract Background Malaria 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 the...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:686ff26fc18649a0a02a5bfd34eb2492 2023-07-16T03:57:11+02:00 Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda John R. S. Tabuti Samuel Baker Obakiro Alice Nabatanzi Godwin Anywar Cissy Nambejja Michael R. Mutyaba Timothy Omara Paul Waako 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 https://doaj.org/article/686ff26fc18649a0a02a5bfd34eb2492 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/686ff26fc18649a0a02a5bfd34eb2492 Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2023) Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotany Indigenous knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Traditional medicine Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 2023-06-25T00:37:20Z Abstract Background Malaria 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. Methods An 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. Results A 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. Conclusion This 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Tropical Medicine and Health 51 1 |
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op_collection_id |
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English |
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Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotany Indigenous knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Traditional medicine Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotany Indigenous knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Traditional medicine Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 John R. S. Tabuti Samuel Baker Obakiro Alice Nabatanzi Godwin Anywar Cissy Nambejja Michael R. Mutyaba Timothy Omara Paul Waako Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
topic_facet |
Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotany Indigenous knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Traditional medicine Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Abstract Background Malaria 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. Methods An 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. Results A 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. Conclusion This 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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
John R. S. Tabuti Samuel Baker Obakiro Alice Nabatanzi Godwin Anywar Cissy Nambejja Michael R. Mutyaba Timothy Omara Paul Waako |
author_facet |
John R. S. Tabuti Samuel Baker Obakiro Alice Nabatanzi Godwin Anywar Cissy Nambejja Michael R. Mutyaba Timothy Omara Paul Waako |
author_sort |
John R. S. Tabuti |
title |
Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
title_short |
Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
title_full |
Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
title_fullStr |
Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
title_full_unstemmed |
Medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of Tororo District, Eastern Uganda |
title_sort |
medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria by indigenous communities of tororo district, eastern uganda |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 https://doaj.org/article/686ff26fc18649a0a02a5bfd34eb2492 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/686ff26fc18649a0a02a5bfd34eb2492 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00526-8 |
container_title |
Tropical Medicine and Health |
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51 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1771543699215351808 |