Ethnomedicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge for the treatment of different infectious diseases in Ethiopia

Background

The majority of Ethiopians depend on traditional medicine for their health care needs. However, indigenous knowledge of traditional medicine is usually not documented, but rather transferred orally from generation to generation. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to collect, document, analyze, and generate evidence on the ethnomedical use of plants and the associated indigenous knowledge of Ethiopia, for the benefit of future generations.

Aims

This study aims at collecting, documenting, and generating related evidence of the ethnomedical use of plants in southwest Ethiopia.

Materials and Methods

An ethnomedical survey was conducted in different administrative zones of three regional states in southwest Ethiopia. In addition, a literature search was conducted on the traditional medicines used for the treatment of perceived infectious diseases in this part of Ethiopia.

Results

Seventy medicinal plant species belonging to 40 plant families were identified from the ethnomedical survey, from which 30 (44.9%) plant species were newly reported for their claimed use against respective infections in the study area. Vernonia amygdalina Delile, was the most frequently used plant species. Intestinal parasites (15/21.4%) were the most common infections for which these top-listed plants were traditionally used. Consumer trust in traditional medicine (87/53%) was the primary reason for community preference for traditional medicine practices.

Conclusions

Ethnomedical knowledge plays a great role in primary health care delivery in Ethiopia. In this study, Vernonia amygdalina Delile was among the most commonly reported plant species. The communities use more traditional medicine than modern medicine, because they have more trust in it. The information generated from this study is significant in the documentation and prioritization of plant species for further investigation.