Abstract
An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among traditional healers and herbalists in eastern Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) to identify medicinal plant species traditionally used to treat diabetes mellitus. Fifty traditional healers and herbalists selected through the snowball sampling method were interviewed about plant species used in indigenous medicine to treat diabetes mellitus in Kinshasa city. Cited plant taxa were collected and identified at the Herbarium of the Faculty of Science & Technology, University of Kinshasa. Their ecological status was determined. Most respondents were male (58%), with a sex ratio 1.38. According to the marital status of respondents, single persons represent 42%, followed by married (32%), divorced (20%), and widowed (06%), respectively. Out of 50 persons interviewed, the most represented age group comprises individuals of ˃50 years. Most informants have a secondary school educational background (46%). In Kinshasa city, medicinal plants for treating diabetes mellitus are divided into 19 families, 25 genera, and 27 species. The culture/crop and forest plant species represent the most (37.04% each). The ecological and phytogeographical spectra revealed a predominance of trees (33.33%), microphanerophytes (48.15%), mesophytes (85.19%), sarcochores (66.67%), and pantropical species (40.74%). 68% of the population of Tshangu district in Kinshasa city uses Traditional Medicine, against 32% who are interested in modern medicine. 63% of them believe that medicinal plants can cure diabetes, 31.5% believe that plants improve their health, and 15% of the population surveyed believe that medicinal plants have side effects. The leaves are the most used part (40.74%), followed by the roots (25.93), fruits (18.52%), grains (7.41%), flowers, and stems (3.7% each). Promoting ex-situ conservation of some of these useful medicinal plants through in vitro cell culture will permit the preservation of these phyto-resources. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, medicinal plants, ex-situ conservation, metabolic diseases, diabetes mellitus.
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