Ethnobotanical inventory and medicinal applications of plants traded in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Plants possessing medical properties have emerged as a prominent avenue for exploration, garnering increasing acceptance and acknowledgment at the global level. Documenting medicinal plants will contribute to the development of more potent, harmless medications. Kaduna State is the heartland of Nigeria's northern region because of its cultural diversity and consistency. There is no documentation available for medicinal plants sold in the major traditional markets called Kasuwan Monday, Kawo market, and Kasuwan Magani market. The current study intends to investigate the medicinal plants marketed in a local market in Kaduna state using an extensive questionnaire as a guide the research findings unveiled a total of 51 medicinal plant taxa, which fell under 27 distinct families. Fabaceae (21.57%) has the highest number of recorded species, followed by Anacardiaceae (9.8%), Asteraceae and Myrtaceae (7.8% each). Leaves are the most employed component of plants, accounting for 36.73%. The present study found a significant understanding of traditional medicine and its utilization for the treatment of various ailments through the extraction of plant-based substances by the local people.