Ethnomedicinal knowledge, belief and self-reported practice of local inhabitants on traditional antimalarial plants and phytotherapy.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

This paper reveals the trend of knowledge and practice of traditional antimalarial plants (TAPs) to prevent/treat malaria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Stratified, systematic random sampling was adopted. The ethnomedicinal survey was conducted between January and March 2011 by involving the selected 371 household members on knowledge and practice of TAPs by administering a pre-tested questionnaire.

RESULTS

Overall, 54.4% respondents had adequate awareness and usage custom of TAPs and 16 types of plant have been most commonly known and employed by the respondents to prevent/treat malaria. Leaves (57.2%) were most commonly used plant part to prepare traditional antimalarial phytotherapy remedies. Decoction was one of the most commonly used methods to administer TAPs. The chi-square test result revealed that a significant association is found between the usage custom of traditional antimalarial plants and gender (P-value=0.0282), age (P-value=0.0024), educational status (P-value=0.0295), and monthly income (P-value=0.0001), although not with the ethnicity (P-value=0.7933) of the respondents.

CONCLUSION

TAPs usage is an integral part of the tradition and custom of the Ethiopians. However, nearly half of the respondents have had lack of awareness about TAPs and majority of them are reluctant in exercising either due to its ineffectiveness or its bitter taste. Therefore, further laboratory-based research is extremely imperative to identify their antiplasmodial activity and bioactive molecules which could pave the way to formulate the novel affordable as well as accessible potent antimalarials in the near future.