Abstract
BackgroundThe Kagera region, in north western Tanzania, is endowed with a strong culture of traditional medicine that is well supported by a rich diversity of medicinal plants. However, most of the plants in this region have not been documented nor evaluated for safety and efficacy. As an initiative in that direction, this study documented the knowledge on medicinal plant use by traditional healers of Bugabo Ward in Bukoba District.MethodsKey informants were selected with the help of local government officials and information on their knowledge and use of plants for therapeutic purposes was gathered using a semi-structured interview format.ResultsIn this study 94 plant species representing 84 genera and 43 families were found to be commonly used in the treatment of a variety of human ailments. The family Asteraceae had the highest number of species being used as traditional medicines. The study revealed that Malaria is treated using the highest number of different medicinal species (30), followed by skin conditions (19), maternal illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases (14), respiratory diseases (11) and yellow fever, Herpes simplex and peptic ulcers (10). Majority of the species are used to treat less than five different diseases/conditions each and leaves were the most commonly used part, comprising 40% of all the reports on use of plant parts. Trees comprised the most dominant growth form among all plants used for medicinal purposes in the study area.ConclusionBugabo Ward has a rich repository of medicinal plants and this reinforces the need for an extensive and comprehensive documentation of medicinal plants in the area and a concomitant evaluation of their biological activity as a basis for developing future medicines.
Highlights
The Kagera region, in north western Tanzania, is endowed with a strong culture of traditional medicine that is well supported by a rich diversity of medicinal plants
Despite legislation being in place, not much has been achieved in the documentation and evaluation of the vast resource of medicinal plants used by tradtional healers
In the study 94 plant species representing 84 genera and 43 families were reported to be used as traditional medicines in Bugabo Ward (See additional file 1)
Summary
The Kagera region, in north western Tanzania, is endowed with a strong culture of traditional medicine that is well supported by a rich diversity of medicinal plants. Among over 10,000 plant species that occur in Tanzania [2,3], only slightly over 2,600 have been documented as being used in traditional medicine Despite these being documented there is very little that has been done in ascertaining their safety or efficacy so that they may be mainstreamed into the formal healthcare system. The present study in Bugabo Ward, Bukoba district, north western Tanzania is a continuation of on-going efforts to document medicinal plants in the Kagera region with the ultimate aim of evaluating them for biological activity and establishing how they can be mainstreamed into the social and economic development of Tanzania
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