Medicinal plant diversity and utilization from three communities in Delta State, Nigeria
Paper Details
Medicinal plant diversity and utilization from three communities in Delta State, Nigeria
Abstract
Many rural communities in Delta State depend upon medicinal plants for the provision of primary health care. The existence of traditional medicine depends on the knowledge of their uses as herbal medicine. A survey was carried out on medicinal plant diversity and utilization in four study sites at three different locations in Delta State, namely; Asaba, Ekwoma and Abraka. Fieldwork was carried between the period of March to May 2017. Use of semi-structured interview, participant observation and transect work were done in and around the study areas. A total of forty (40) medicinal plant species were identified from twenty-six (26) families which include Euphorbiaceae (28%), Fabaceae (12%), Asteraceae (8%) among others of remarkable medicinal importance. For this work, sixty-five (65) ailments, including malaria, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, convulsion, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, ulcer, tuberculosis amongst others were recorded to be treated using medicinal plants grown from the three communities. From the results, herbs accounted for 42.5%, trees (32.5%, shrubs (15%). The leaves were discovered to be the most used part with the percentage occurrence of 35%, followed by roots with 12% among others. Percentage representations of medicinal plants surveyed from the three locations were Asaba (9.6%), Ekwoma (67.3%) and Abraka (23.1%). This work exposed the diversity and availability of medicinal plants in the study areas, their usage and importance in primary health care and how the right selection of two or more of these medicinal plants could be used in the handling of various ailments. There is the need for conservation, preservation, utilization, domestication and documentation of our biodiversity for future propagation.
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Ilondu Ebele Martina, Erhenhi Aghariagbonse Harrison, Ukwelenwa Priscilla, 2019. Medicinal plant diversity and utilization from three communities in Delta State, Nigeria. J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 15(5), 37-45.
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