Gumisiriza Hannington, Olet Eunice Apio, Mukasa Paul, Lejju Julius B, Omara Timothy
Department of Chemistry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
Department of Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
Trop Med Health. 2023 Aug 30;51(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s41182-023-00541-9.
Malaria remains a major global health challenge and a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, limited access to medical facilities has perpetuated the reliance of indigenous communities on herbal medicine for the prevention and management of malaria. This study was undertaken to document ethnobotanical knowledge on medicinal plants prescribed for managing malaria in Rukungiri District, a meso-endemic malaria region of Western Uganda.
An ethnobotanical survey was carried out between May 2022 and December 2022 in Bwambara Sub-County, Rukungiri District, Western Uganda using semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 125 respondents (81 females and 44 males) were randomly selected and seven (7) key informants were engaged in open interviews. In all cases, awareness of herbalists on malaria, treatment-seeking behaviour and herbal treatment practices were obtained. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, informant consensus factor and preference ranking.
The study identified 48 medicinal plants belonging to 47 genera and 23 families used in the treatment of malaria and its symptoms in the study area. The most frequently cited species were Vernonia amygdalina, Aloe vera and Azadirachta indica. Leaves (74%) was the most used plant organ, mostly for preparation of decoctions (41.8%) and infusions (23.6%) which are administered orally (89.6%) or used for bathing (10.4%).
Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used as prophylaxis and for treatment of malaria still exist among the local communities of Bwambara Sub-County. However, there is a need to investigate the antimalarial efficacy, phytochemical composition and safety of species (such as Digitaria abyssinica and Berkheya barbata) with high percentage use values to validate their use.
疟疾仍然是一项重大的全球卫生挑战，也是撒哈拉以南非洲地区发病和死亡的一个重要原因。在乌干达，由于获得医疗设施的机会有限，当地社区长期以来一直依赖草药来预防和治疗疟疾。本研究旨在记录乌干达西部中流行疟疾地区鲁昆吉里区用于治疗疟疾的药用植物的民族植物学知识。
2022年5月至2022年12月期间，在乌干达西部鲁昆吉里区的布万巴拉县使用半结构化问卷进行了一次民族植物学调查。总共随机选择了125名受访者（81名女性和44名男性），并与7名关键信息提供者进行了开放式访谈。在所有情况下，了解了草药医生对疟疾的认识、寻求治疗行为和草药治疗方法。使用描述性统计、信息提供者共识因子和偏好排序对民族植物学数据进行了分析。
该研究确定了48种药用植物，属于47个属和23个科，用于治疗研究区域内的疟疾及其症状。引用频率最高的物种是扁桃斑鸠菊、库拉索芦荟和印楝。叶子（74%）是最常用的植物器官，主要用于制备汤剂（41.8%）和浸剂（23.6%），这些汤剂和浸剂通过口服（89.6%）或用于洗澡（10.4%）。
布万巴拉县当地社区仍然存在关于用作预防和治疗疟疾的药用植物的本土知识。然而，有必要调查使用价值百分比高的物种（如非洲马唐和具髯麻花头）的抗疟疗效、植物化学成分和安全性，以验证它们的用途。
