Department of Botany, University of Zululand, Private Bag 1001, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Jun 1;135(3):696-710. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.03.072. Epub 2011 Apr 8.
Traditional remedies are frequently used in treating various respiratory ailments, and are very important in the primary health care of the people living in rural Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Novel information gathered from surveys like the present study is important in preserving indigenous knowledge.
To explore the knowledge that the lay people of a rural community in northern Maputaland have about medicinal plants used in the vicinity to treat respiratory infections.
Interviews were conducted among 80 homestead inhabitants, using structured questionnaires where convenience sampling was used. The focus was on plants used in treating respiratory infections. Some of the main topics discussed during the interviews were vernacular plant names, plant parts used, harvested amounts, preparation methods, dosage forms and quantities, use of plants in combination as well as the related symptomatic relief associated with respiratory infections.
The study documented 30 plant species (18 families) which are used to treat respiratory infections by the rural people in the study area. Decoctions made with these plants are mostly taken orally, combined with the use of steaming. To the best of our knowledge, Acanthospermum glabratum, Aloe marlothii, Krauseola mosambicina, Ozoroa obovata, Parinari capensis and Plectranthus neochilus are recorded for the first time globally as medicinal plants used for treating respiratory infections and related symptoms. The indigenous aromatic shrub, Lippia javanica was by far the most frequently used plant species, followed by Eucalyptus grandis (an exotic), Tetradenia riparia and then Senecio serratulloides. Twenty-four different plant combinations were used where the most frequently used combination encountered was Eucalyptus grandis with Lippia javanica.
The large number of different plant species traditionally used against respiratory infections supports previous research on the importance of traditional medicine in the primary health care of this remote area. The finding of new vernacular plant names and plant uses in the current survey shows the importance of the documentation of such ethnobotanical knowledge.
传统疗法经常用于治疗各种呼吸道疾病，在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省马普特兰农村地区的基本医疗保健中非常重要。像本研究这样的调查所收集的新信息对于保护本土知识非常重要。
探索农村社区的外行人对附近用于治疗呼吸道感染的药用植物的了解。
在 80 户居民中进行了访谈，使用了结构问卷，采用了方便抽样。重点是用于治疗呼吸道感染的植物。访谈中讨论的一些主要主题包括植物的俗名、使用的植物部位、收获量、制备方法、剂型和用量、植物的组合使用以及与呼吸道感染相关的症状缓解。
该研究记录了 30 种植物（18 科），这些植物被研究地区的农村居民用于治疗呼吸道感染。这些植物制成的汤剂大多口服，结合蒸汽使用。据我们所知，Acanthospermum glabratum、Aloe marlothii、Krauseola mosambicina、Ozoroa obovata、Parinari capensis 和 Plectranthus neochilus 是首次被记录为用于治疗呼吸道感染和相关症状的药用植物。本土芳香灌木 Lippia javanica 是迄今为止使用最频繁的植物物种，其次是桉树（外来种）、 Tetradenia riparia 和 Senecio serratulloides。使用了 24 种不同的植物组合，最常用的组合是桉树与 Lippia javanica。
传统上用于治疗呼吸道感染的大量不同植物物种支持了之前关于传统医学在这一偏远地区基本医疗保健中重要性的研究。在当前调查中发现新的俗名和植物用途表明了记录这种民族植物学知识的重要性。
