Ethnobotanical survey of plant species in folkloric medicine in Hawul Local Government Area, Borno State

Abstract

Area of Borno State was conducted with a view to document the indigenous knowledge of some medicinal plant species found in the area. The information was obtained through semi-structured questionnaire. The benefits, importance and coverage of ethnomedicine were expressed through several quantitative indices including Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Use Value (UV) and Fidelity Level (FL). The agreement of homogeneity between the present and previous studies and among the indigenous communities was evaluated using the Jaccard Index (JI). A total of fifty-five (55) medicinal plant species, which were distributed in twenty-nine (29) families were documented from one hundred (100) informants. Majority of documented species were trees, and leaves were the most utilised plant parts for the preparation of ethnomedicines. The highest ICF value was 0.77 for digestive system disorders. The information retrieved from the questionnaires revealed that the most common ailments were pile and ulcer. Based on UVs, the two most commonly cited ethnomedicinal plant species in the study area were Khaya senegalensis (0.40) and Piliostigma thonningii (0.35) . The most common method of preparation was by decoction and the major route of administration was oral. Phytochemical profiles showed that flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, saponins and tannins were the major phytochemical components in Khaya senegalensis and Piliostigma thonningii leaves. This justified the frequent use of these plants in folklore medicine by the traditional herbal practitioners to treat different illnesses.