Wanjohi Bernard K, Sudoi Vincent, Njenga Elizabeth W, Kipkore Wilson K
Department of Wildlife Management, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
School of Environmental Studies, Department of Environmental Biology, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Mar 30;2020:3208634. doi: 10.1155/2020/3208634. eCollection 2020.
Traditional plant knowledge and uses of medicinal wild plants were investigated among the Marakwet community in Kenya. Data were collected through interviews with seven traditional healers and 157 questionnaires for local community members. Traditional names of the plants by traditional healers and local community members were prepared as a checklist. Loss of traditional medicinal names of plants was ascertained with up to 60% overlapping in their nomenclature. The traditional medicinal plants treated 41 diseases within the region, of which local community members understood common ones for treating stomachache (94.8%), diarrhea (70.7%), chest problems (65.5%), and typhoid (63.8%). It was also clear that there was low knowledge index of medicinal plants by the local community members (23.6%) based on knowledge of traditional healers. Clearly, medicinal plants for treatment of malaria, diabetes, tetanus, and pneumonia were recognized by over 40% of the local community members, while plants treating arteriosclerosis, meningitis, arthritis, trachoma, smallpox, rheumatic fever, and gout were known by less than 10% of the respondents. Among plants, the use of roots for treatment was known by over 67% of the local community members compared to fruits, bark, bulb, and flowers (<10%). This low traditional medicinal knowledge in a community relies on the traditional medicinal plants, calling for an urgent need to document the information and perpetuate this knowledge from one generation to another. This can be achieved by collecting the information and developing a database of medicinal plants for future research and potential development of new drugs.
在肯尼亚的马拉奎特社区，对传统植物知识及药用野生植物的用途进行了调查。通过与7名传统治疗师进行访谈以及向当地社区成员发放157份调查问卷来收集数据。将传统治疗师和当地社区成员所提及的植物传统名称整理成一份清单。确定植物传统药用名称的丧失情况，发现它们在命名上有高达60%的重叠。该地区的传统药用植物可治疗41种疾病，其中当地社区成员了解用于治疗胃痛（94.8%）、腹泻（70.7%）、胸部问题（65.5%）和伤寒（63.8%）的常见植物。同样明显的是，基于传统治疗师的知识，当地社区成员对药用植物的知识指数较低（23.6%）。显然，超过40%的当地社区成员认识用于治疗疟疾、糖尿病、破伤风和肺炎的药用植物，而认识用于治疗动脉硬化、脑膜炎、关节炎、沙眼、天花、风湿热和痛风的植物的受访者不到10%。在植物中，超过67%的当地社区成员知道使用根进行治疗，相比之下，知道使用果实、树皮、鳞茎和花进行治疗的比例不到10%。社区中这种较低的传统药用知识依赖于传统药用植物，这迫切需要记录这些信息，并将这种知识代代相传。这可以通过收集信息并建立一个药用植物数据库来实现，以便未来进行研究和开发新药的潜在用途。
