Abstract
This paper reviews the current state and future prospects of ethnobotany in Nigeria. A brief historical background is presented. Books and journals indexed by Scopus and Science Direct were reviewed. Direct search was also made on the official websites of journals specializing in ethnobotany and allied disciplines. The field of ethnobotany manifests in all facets of human activities and relates to cultural and sociological relevance of plants. Ethnobotanical data generated from historical, religious, literary, linguistic, and pharmacological viewpoints serve as useful information regarding indigenous food production, traditional agricultural systems, and source for the development of new medicines. Since the vast majority of ethnobotanical studies conducted in Nigeria center on indigenous medicines, collaborative efforts geared toward efficient health service delivery is essential. This must include accreditation or documentation of traditional healers and herbal medicine vendors as well as policies in drug regulation, quality assurance, and control. Ethical guidelines and equitable sharing of benefits gained from sale of active compounds from source locations should be instituted and implemented. Conservation of indigenous plant resources requires the integration of ethnobotanical knowledge into national development programmes. Curriculum development and inclusion of ethnobotany (as a distinct subject) in Nigerian schools will direct future investigations in this promising field. Key words: Ethnobotany, indigenous medicine, traditional botanical knowledge, Nigeria.
Highlights
The birth of ethnobotanyIn 1895, a seasoned American floristic and taxonomic botanist, John William Harshberger, conceived the term “Ethnobotany”
This paper aimed to provide an extensive review of ethnobotany in Nigeria
In some institutions (e.g. University of Ibadan, Ibadan and University of Lagos, Akoka), ethnobotany is regarded as an academic subject and administered up to PhD level while professional programmes in Economic Botany are floated as Master of Economic Botany (MEB)
Summary
The birth of ethnobotanyIn 1895, a seasoned American floristic and taxonomic botanist, John William Harshberger, conceived the term “Ethnobotany”. In a lecture on “food, dress, household utensils and agricultural tools of plant origin” presented in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania; he made a formal incorporation of this term into the botanical diction and regarded it as “the use of plants by the aboriginal peoples”. Prior to this time, Stephen Powers in 1873 (Cotton, 1996) had termed the concept “Aboriginal Botany” to describe the study of all forms of vegetation which aborigines used for commodities such as medicine, food, textiles and ornaments.
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