Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda
Abstract Background Malaria remains a major global health challenge and a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, limited access to medical facilities has perpetuated the reliance of indigenous communities on herbal medicine for the prevention and management of mal...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e8039a74726c408997e8e380af00549e 2023-10-09T21:49:23+02:00 Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda Hannington Gumisiriza Eunice Apio Olet Paul Mukasa Julius B. Lejju Timothy Omara 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 https://doaj.org/article/e8039a74726c408997e8e380af00549e EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/e8039a74726c408997e8e380af00549e Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2023) African traditional medicine Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotanical knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 2023-09-10T00:43:08Z Abstract Background Malaria remains a major global health challenge and a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, limited access to medical facilities has perpetuated the reliance of indigenous communities on herbal medicine for the prevention and management of malaria. This study was undertaken to document ethnobotanical knowledge on medicinal plants prescribed for managing malaria in Rukungiri District, a meso-endemic malaria region of Western Uganda. Methods An ethnobotanical survey was carried out between May 2022 and December 2022 in Bwambara Sub-County, Rukungiri District, Western Uganda using semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 125 respondents (81 females and 44 males) were randomly selected and seven (7) key informants were engaged in open interviews. In all cases, awareness of herbalists on malaria, treatment-seeking behaviour and herbal treatment practices were obtained. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, informant consensus factor and preference ranking. Results The study identified 48 medicinal plants belonging to 47 genera and 23 families used in the treatment of malaria and its symptoms in the study area. The most frequently cited species were Vernonia amygdalina, Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica. Leaves (74%) was the most used plant organ, mostly for preparation of decoctions (41.8%) and infusions (23.6%) which are administered orally (89.6%) or used for bathing (10.4%). Conclusions Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used as prophylaxis and for treatment of malaria still exist among the local communities of Bwambara Sub-County. However, there is a need to investigate the antimalarial efficacy, phytochemical composition and safety of species (such as Digitaria abyssinica and Berkheya barbata) with high percentage use values to validate their use. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Tropical Medicine and Health 51 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
African traditional medicine Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotanical knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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African traditional medicine Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotanical knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Hannington Gumisiriza Eunice Apio Olet Paul Mukasa Julius B. Lejju Timothy Omara Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
topic_facet |
African traditional medicine Antimalarial resistance Ethnobotanical knowledge Malaria Medicinal plants Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Abstract Background Malaria remains a major global health challenge and a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, limited access to medical facilities has perpetuated the reliance of indigenous communities on herbal medicine for the prevention and management of malaria. This study was undertaken to document ethnobotanical knowledge on medicinal plants prescribed for managing malaria in Rukungiri District, a meso-endemic malaria region of Western Uganda. Methods An ethnobotanical survey was carried out between May 2022 and December 2022 in Bwambara Sub-County, Rukungiri District, Western Uganda using semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 125 respondents (81 females and 44 males) were randomly selected and seven (7) key informants were engaged in open interviews. In all cases, awareness of herbalists on malaria, treatment-seeking behaviour and herbal treatment practices were obtained. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, informant consensus factor and preference ranking. Results The study identified 48 medicinal plants belonging to 47 genera and 23 families used in the treatment of malaria and its symptoms in the study area. The most frequently cited species were Vernonia amygdalina, Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica. Leaves (74%) was the most used plant organ, mostly for preparation of decoctions (41.8%) and infusions (23.6%) which are administered orally (89.6%) or used for bathing (10.4%). Conclusions Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used as prophylaxis and for treatment of malaria still exist among the local communities of Bwambara Sub-County. However, there is a need to investigate the antimalarial efficacy, phytochemical composition and safety of species (such as Digitaria abyssinica and Berkheya barbata) with high percentage use values to validate their use. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hannington Gumisiriza Eunice Apio Olet Paul Mukasa Julius B. Lejju Timothy Omara |
author_facet |
Hannington Gumisiriza Eunice Apio Olet Paul Mukasa Julius B. Lejju Timothy Omara |
author_sort |
Hannington Gumisiriza |
title |
Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
title_short |
Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
title_full |
Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
title_fullStr |
Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in Rukungiri District, Western Uganda |
title_sort |
ethnomedicinal plants used for malaria treatment in rukungiri district, western uganda |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 https://doaj.org/article/e8039a74726c408997e8e380af00549e |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/e8039a74726c408997e8e380af00549e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9 |
container_title |
Tropical Medicine and Health |
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51 |
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1 |
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1779312405624389632 |