Ethnobotanical Survey of Local Flora Used for Medicinal Purposes among Indigenous People in Five Areas in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu,Basirat Olabisi Rafiu,Onuyi Emmanuel Majebi,Joy Enitan Ale,Ibraheem Oduola Lawal

doi:10.3390/plants11050633

Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu, Basirat Olabisi Rafiu + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050633

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Abstract

Traditional medicine is typically the most accessible primary healthcare for a large proportion of the people in Nigeria. However, its potential remains under-explored, especially with regards to their documentation. This research investigated and documented the use of medicinal plants in the management of various health conditions/diseases among local populations in Lagos State. This study was conducted in five (5) locations of Lagos State i.e., Alimosho, Badagry, Eti-Osa, and Epe (including Ijebu and Imota). Ethnobotanical information from 100 participants was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires. Frequency of citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), fidelity level (FL), and informant consensus factor (ICF) were used to assess the importance of plants utilised for various health conditions/diseases. We identified 183 plants from 61 plant families with the highest number (24) of plants belonging to Fabaceae. Based on the high FC, the top-five popular plants used for managing health conditions/diseases in the study areas were Mangifera indica (95%), Waltheria indica (93%), Zingiber officinale (87%), Alchornea cordifolia (83%) and Ipomoea involucrata (81%). Furthermore, Rauvolfia vomitoria, Urena lobata and Waltheria indica were recognised as the most adaptable plants, as they were used to treat five different health conditions/diseases. The most commonly used life-forms were herbs (34%) and woody species (shrubs; 30%, and trees; 22%). The most regularly used plant parts were leaves. The calculated RFC values for all medicinal plant species ranged from 0.01 to 0.95, while FL values ranged from 7.14 to 100%. We found 14 health conditions/diseases, with ICF values ranging from 0.88 to 0.95. Insomnia, insanity, convulsion, nervousness, and muscle relaxants had the lowest (ICF = 0.88) agreement, while malaria/fevers, stomach, and respiratory-related diseases had the most (ICF = 0.95) agreement. The documented therapeutic uses of the plants provide basic data for further research aimed at pharmacological and conservation studies of the most important flora existing in the study areas.

Highlights

In Lagos State, ethnobotanical studies have been approached from different perspectives including the focus on plant species used for medicinal purposes by indigenous residents known as the Eegun people [25] as well as generating plant inventory used against various health conditions such as diabetics, hypertension, erectile dysfunction and fever [26,27]
In comparison to similar ethnobotanical studies conducted in Southwestern Nigeria [13,16,23,25,29], the current study areas had a higher number of plants used for medicinal purposes
The current research revealed 183 medicinal plants with diverse therapeutic uses in the study areas. This generated inventory contributes to local, national and international efforts aimed at documenting indigenous flora with medicinal benefits among local communities. Given their high mentions (FC, relative frequency of citation (RFC)), Mangifera indica, Waltheria indica and Zingiber officinale were identified as the most popular plants used for medicinal purposes among the participants

Summary

Introduction

Intense efforts are being geared towards the documentation of plant resources, with the goal of ensuring their sustainable utilisation and conservation to meet the needs of humans [1–6]. Indigenous knowledge embedded in traditional medicine, including the use of medicinal plants, often offers culturally familiar techniques that address both the physical and spiritual state of an individual [8,9]. The inherent benefits such as relative affordability and accessibility of traditional medicine to a significant portion of the global population, especially in developing countries, further highlight the renewed interest from different stakeholders [4,5,10]. In Lagos State, ethnobotanical studies have been approached from different perspectives including the focus on plant species used for medicinal purposes by indigenous residents known as the Eegun people [25] as well as generating plant inventory used against various health conditions such as diabetics, hypertension, erectile dysfunction and fever [26,27]

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