Traditional Medicinal Plants Used for the Treatment of Urological and Urogenital Diseases in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Introduction: Ethiopia is recognized as one of the richest biodiversity in Africa. The present review aimed to compile relevant information on medicinal plants traditionally used to manage urogenital diseases in Ethiopia. Methods: Different literatures published specifically on ethnobotanical use of medicinal plants in scientific journals, books, theses and proceedings were reviewed. Data from literatures were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 20 and an Excel spreadsheet and reported using descriptive statistics, frequency, and percentage. Results: A total of 146 medicinal plants are reported in the reviewed literature. It was distributed in 127 genera and 64 families. Cucurbitaceae (7.51%), Asteriaceae (7.51%), Euphorbaceae (6.20%) and Apiaceae (4.80%) were family’s accounts of high number of species. A higher diversity of medicinal plants was reported from Southern nations and nationalities (44.5%), Oromia (41.1%) and Amhara (27.4%) regional states. The most frequently reported growth form of medicinal plants indicated in the review was herbs (46.8%), followed by shrubs (32.6%). Root (36.2%) and leaves (35.3%) were the most used parts. Decoction (26.1%), concoction (16.5%) and pounding (11.9%) were the most frequently reported remedy preparation methods and were administered orally. Conclusion: The present review indicated that urogenital diseases were managed with different medicinal plants throughout the regions of Ethiopian needed scientifically confirmed in order to produce safe and effective drugs from natural products.