Asiimwe Savina, Namukobe Jane, Byamukama Robert, Imalingat Betty
Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology & Biotechnology, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Chemistry, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Trop Med Health. 2021 Jun 29;49(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s41182-021-00341-z.
Medicinal plants form an integral part of many health care systems in Uganda. This study aimed at documenting the therapeutic importance of plant species used in primary health care among communities living adjacent to Mabira and Mpanga forest reserves in Central Uganda.
An ethnobotanical study was conducted between April and June 2018 in 7 villages adjacent to Mpanga and 6 villages adjacent to Mabira central forest reserves. Information was obtained from 28 respondents identified using snowball and purposive sampling techniques and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data. The quantitative analysis of data was done using fidelity level, informant consensus factor, and percent respondent knowledge indices.
A total of 136 medicinal plants were recorded. The plant species classified into 55 families were grouped under 14 medical categories with the highest number of plant species being used for digestive disorders (44%), followed by respiratory (38%) and dermatological disorders (36%). Hoslundia opposita Vahl was mentioned by 71% of the respondents for treating 22 disease conditions. Plant Family Fabaceae was the most represented with 16 species. Informant consensus agreement was high (0.7) for respiratory disorders. The fidelity level was 100% for Bidens pilosa L. and Callistemon citrinus Skeels for treating wounds and cough, respectively. Plant remedies were mainly prepared by decoction (31%) and administered orally (36%). A large number of plants (61%) were harvested from wild habitats. Herbs (50%) and leaves (50%) contributed the highest percentage of plant biological forms and parts used in remedy preparation.
This study recorded plant species with the potential to treat a wide range of illnesses. This is reflected in the high diversity of the recorded species used for medicinal purposes. Pharmacological studies on the plants with high percentage use values and fidelity levels are needed to validate their uses in the management of the said therapeutic applications. Further research on the isolation and characterization of the plant active compounds could lead to the discovery of new potential drugs.
药用植物是乌干达许多医疗保健体系的重要组成部分。本研究旨在记录乌干达中部毗邻马比拉森林和姆潘加森林保护区的社区在初级卫生保健中使用的植物物种的治疗重要性。
2018年4月至6月，在毗邻姆潘加的7个村庄和毗邻马比拉中央森林保护区的6个村庄开展了一项民族植物学研究。通过滚雪球抽样和目的抽样技术确定了28名受访者，并使用半结构化问卷进行访谈。采用描述性统计方法呈现数据。使用保真度水平、信息提供者共识因子和受访者知识百分比指数对数据进行定量分析。
共记录了136种药用植物。这些植物物种分为55科，归为14个医学类别，其中用于消化系统疾病的植物物种数量最多（44%），其次是呼吸系统疾病（38%）和皮肤病（36%）。71%的受访者提到霍氏龙船花可治疗多达22种疾病。豆科植物种类最多，有16种。信息提供者对呼吸系统疾病的共识度较高（0.7）。三叶鬼针草和红千层分别用于治疗伤口和咳嗽，保真度水平为100%。植物疗法主要通过煎煮制备（31%），并口服给药（36%）。大量植物（61%）采自野生栖息地。草药（50%）和叶子（50%）在用于制备药物的植物生物形态和部位中占比最高。
本研究记录了具有治疗多种疾病潜力的植物物种。这体现在所记录的药用植物物种的高度多样性上。需要对具有高使用价值和保真度水平的植物进行药理研究，以验证它们在上述治疗应用中的用途。对植物活性化合物的分离和表征进行进一步研究可能会发现新的潜在药物。
