Use and management of medicinal plants among the Moba in the prefecture of Tone in Togo

Abstract

Background and research objectives: Finding sustainable management options for the local communities that depend on medicinal plants is crucial in the face of human pressure on these plants. This study contributes to the sustainable management of medecinal plants in Togo. It aims to censusing medecinal plants and pathologies and identify the endogenous sustainable management strategies for medicinal plants in the Moba ethnic group of Togo. Methods: Data was collected through semi-structured ethnobotanical individual interviews with 50 traditional healers, recorded on a Microsoft Excel 10 spreadsheet and processed with the Sphinx5V software and the Microsoft Excel 10 table. Results: 166 medicinal plants were reported in the treatment of 91 pathologies dominated by dysmenorrhoea, stomachache, wounds, general and chronic asthenia, and infantile umbilical hernia. The most represented botanical families were: the Poaceae (12), the Combretaceae (10), and the Euphorbiaceae (10), Caesalpiniaceae (8), and Mimosaceae (7). The most important species according to the Species Importance Value Index (IVIsp) are: Vitellaria paradoxa (159.59), Parkia biglobosa (145.94), Securidaca longipedunculata (145.12), Diospyros mespiliformis (133.51), Annona senegalensis (123.88), Khaya senegalensis (110.52), Cymbopogon proximus (106.88), Cymbopogon giganteus (102.03), Zanthozylum zanthoxyloides (99.005). The most used plant parts are roots (18.6 %), leaves (17.85 %), bark of the trunk (16.66 %), the whole plant (14.28 %) and the fruits (12.30 %). Endogenous management strategies for medicinal plants include in situ protection in fields, reforestation, and respect for totemic trees, groves and sacred forests.