Survey of plant species used in the treatment of common ailments in Hawul Local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

To record the locals' knowledge of some of the medicinal plant species in the area, a survey of plant species used for the treatment of common ailments was carried out in Hawul Local Government Area Borno State. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Numerous quantitative indices, including Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Shannon Weiner Index, Simpson Index, Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Family Importance Value (FIV), were used to quantify the advantages, significance, and coverage of ethnomedicine. The Jaccard Index (JI) was used to assess the degree of homogeneity between the current study and earlier research as well as within indigenous tribes. A total of fifty-five (55) medicinal plants species, which were distributed under twenty-nine (29) families were documented from one hundred (100) informants. The majority of species that have been identified are tree species, and the most common plant portion used to make ethnomedicines is leaf material. The Fabaceae were the predominate families among the species that had been documented (11 species) Accacia nilotica, Piliostigma thonningii, Detarium microcarpum, Faidherbia albida, Sennia siamea, Prosopis Africana, Parkia baglobosa, Tamarindus indica, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Senna occidentalist, Senna obtusifolia, while the least represented was (1 species) Apocynacea. For digestive system problems, the highest ICF score was 0.77. According to the data gathered from the questionnaires, pile, yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, stomach ache, and ulcer were the most prevalent diseases, in that order. Based on UVs, the two most commonly cited ethnomedicinal plant species in the study area were Khaya senegalensis (0.40), Piliostigma thonningii (0.35) while the least was (0.01) Guinea senegalensis. The most common method of preparation was by decoction and the major route of administration was oral while least cited was sit bath. Phytochemical profiles demonstrated that flavonoids, alkaloids phenols, saponins and tannins were the major phytochemical component in Khaya. senegalensis and Piliostigma. thonningii leaves. This further justifies the frequent application of these plants in folklore medicine by the traditional herbal practitioners to treat different forms of illnesses. It is stated that due to their physiologically active ingredients and accessibility, herbal medicine will continue to play a significant role in the community's health care delivery system.