Survey of Ethnomedicinal Importance of Plants Used in the Managements of Diseases in Irepodun Ifelodun Local Government Area, Ado-Ekiti, Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

The use of plants in treating diseases traditionally was found to be part of culture of the inhabitants in the study area. It was shown that the greater number of respondents (61, 50.8%) preferred the use of herbs when compared to the number who used synthetic (32, 26.6%) medicines. A total number of 50 botanicals belonging to 30 families were documented. Members of the family Fabaceae had the highest number (9) of plant species, followed by Euphorbiaceae with five (5) plant species, Cucurbitaceae (3 plants) and Rutaceae (3 plants) respectively. Leguminosae, Apocynaceae, Araceae, Anacardiaceae, Poaceae and Bignoniaceae had two species each, while other families had only one species each. Azadiracta indica and Alstonia boonei were high on the frequency of citation. These plants were mostly used for the treatment of malaria and bodypains. The botanical names, common names, family names, forms of plant, plant part used and diseases treated were identified. Tree was found to be the most used plants followed by shrubs, herbs, underground stem, grass, climber, creeper and weed. Leaves were the plants parts frequently mentioned. It was revealed that 34 plants out of all the 50 plants were common. The methods of preparation and mode of administration revealed that plants were prepared traditionally with the combination of inert materials such as camphor, local gin or alcohol. Deforestation that lead to depletion of the plants and lack of government recognition were among the constraints to utilization of the traditional knowledge. Efforts on the development of cheaper medical services in the state should be more focused.