Medicinal plant species used for contraception and reproductive health care in rural Uganda.

Medicinal plants form an integral part of traditional health care systems in Uganda and are known to possess a variety of bioactive compounds some of which are beneficial as contraceptives. This study documented indigenous traditional knowledge on medicinal plant species used in contraception and other reproductive health care-related issues in rural Uganda. An ethnobotanical study was conducted from December 2019 to August 2020 in four different regions of Uganda: Mpigi, Kamuli, Bushenyi and Arua. Data was obtained from 158 traditional medical practitioners using semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data while quantitative analysis of data was done using the informant consensus factor (FIC), Percentage Use Value (PUV) and Jaccard Index (JI). The study recorded 98 medicinal plant species with the potential to manage family planning and other reproductive health related conditions. The most represented family was Asteraceae with 18 species. Plant remedies were mainly prepared as decoctions (41 %) and administered orally (36 %). Most plant species (61 %) were harvested from wild habitats. Herbs (50 %) and leaves (50 %) contributed the highest percentage of plant growth forms and parts used respectively. The FIC value of 0.6 demonstrated that the herbalists, traditional birth attendants and community elders tend to agree with each other regarding plant species used and administration. JI ranged from 13 % to 0.9 %, an indication of very low similarities between the plants used in family planning and traditional health care among the communities in the study areas. The most frequently cited plant species for family planning management were: (Hook.f.) Kalkman (14: with a PUV of 45.2 %): P.Beauv. (10: 19.6), Sprague (10: 23.1) and (L.f.) Kuntze (7 ': 26.9). There is a high diversity of the species and a wealth of indigenous traditional knowledge for contraceptives and reproductive health care. Species like , and with high percentage use values are trusted by the community and can be investigated further for contraceptive potential to confirm their efficacy.