Medicinal Plant Research Volume 11 Number 14, 10 April, 2017 ISSN 1996-0875
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Journal of Medicinal Plant Research Volume 11 Number 14, 10 April, 2017 ISSN 1996-0875 ABOUT JMPR The Journal of Medicinal Plant Research is published weekly (one volume per year) by Academic Journals. The Journal of Medicinal Plants Research (JMPR) is an open access journal that provides rapid publication (weekly) of articles in all areas of Medicinal Plants research, Ethnopharmacology, Fitoterapia, Phytomedicine etc. The Journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meet the general criteria of significance and scientific excellence. Papers will be published shortly after acceptance. All articles published in JMPR are peer reviewed. Electronic submission of manuscripts is strongly encouraged, provided that the text, tables, and figures are included in a single Microsoft Word file (preferably in Arial font). Contact Us Editorial Office: [email protected] Help Desk: [email protected] Website: http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/JMPR Submit manuscript online http://ms.academicjournals.me/ Editors Prof. Akah Peter Achunike Prof. Parveen Bansal Editor-in-chief Department of Biochemistry Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and University of Nigeria, Nsukka Research Nigeria Chandigarh India. Associate Editors Dr. Ravichandran Veerasamy AIMST University Dr. Ugur Cakilcioglu Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Semeling - Elazıg Directorate of National Education 08100, Turkey. Kedah, Malaysia. Dr. Jianxin Chen Dr. Sayeed Ahmad Information Center, Herbal Medicine Laboratory, Department of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Beijing, China Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard 100029, University), Hamdard Nagar, New Delhi, 110062, China. India. Dr. Hassan Sher Dr. Cheng Tan Department of Botany and Microbiology, Department of Dermatology, first Affiliated Hospital College of Science, of Nanjing Univeristy of King Saud University, Riyadh Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 155 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. 210029 Dr. Jin Tao Professor and Dong-Wu Scholar, Dr. Naseem Ahmad Department of Neurobiology, Young Scientist (DST, FAST TRACK Scheme) Medical College of Soochow University, Plant Biotechnology Laboratory 199 Ren-Ai Road, Dushu Lake Campus, Department of Botany Suzhou Industrial Park, Aligarh Muslim University Suzhou 215123, Aligarh- 202 002,(UP) P.R.China. India. Dr. Pongsak Rattanachaikunsopon Dr. Isiaka A. Ogunwande Department of Biological Science, Dept. Of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Ubon Ratchathani University, Nigeria. Ubon Ratchathani 34190, Thailand. Editorial Board Prof Hatil Hashim EL-Kamali Dr. Arash Kheradmand Omdurman Islamic University, Botany Department, Lorestan University, Sudan. Iran. Prof. Dr. Muradiye Nacak Prof Dr Cemşit Karakurt Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology Gaziantep University, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. Turkey. Dr. Sadiq Azam Samuel Adelani Babarinde Department of Biotechnology, Department of Crop and Environmental Protection, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Pakistan. Ogbomoso Nigeria. Kongyun Wu Department of Biology and Environment Engineering, Dr.Wafaa Ibrahim Rasheed Guiyang College, Professor of Medical Biochemistry National Research Center China. Cairo Egypt. Prof Swati Sen Mandi Division of plant Biology, Bose Institute India. Dr. Ujjwal Kumar De Indian Vetreinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, UP-243122 Veterinary Medicine, India. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Table of Contents: Volume 11 Number 14 10 April, 2017 ARTICLES Specialization in ethnomedicinal plant knowledge among herbalists in the forest region of Rivercess County, Liberia 264 Aiah Lebbie, François Kouamé and Edouard Kouassi Chemical composition, antiacetylcholinesterase inhibition and toxicity activities of essential oil from Hyptis dilatata (Lamiaceae) flowers 275 Sirley Pereira Almeida, Diana Maruja Sangama Mozombite, Antonio Alves de Melo Filho, Andreina G. de Andrade Laranjeira, Ana Cristina Gonçalves Reis de Melo, Regildo M. G. Martins, Jacqueline A. Takahashi, Vany P. Ferraz, Otoniel Ribeiro Duarte and Wanderli Pedro Tadei Vol. 11(14), pp. 264-274, 10 April, 2017 DOI: 10.5897/JMPR2017.6329 Article Number: 8F4996C63754 ISSN 1996-0875 Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Copyright © 2017 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR Full Length Research Paper Specialization in ethnomedicinal plant knowledge among herbalists in the forest region of Rivercess County, Liberia Aiah Lebbie1*, François Kouamé2 and Edouard Kouassi2 1National Herbarium of Sierra Leone, Department of Biological Sciences, Njala University, P.M.B. Freetown, Sierra Leone. 2Laboratory of Botany, University Félix Houphouet-Boigny, BP 165 Abidjan 31, Côte d'Ivoire. Received 3 January, 2017; Accepted 29 March, 2017 The ethnomedicinal uses of plants reported by 22 herbalists in the Rivercess County of Liberia show a rich knowledge of medicinal plant usage for both common and less common health problems. We set out with the objectives of documenting the ethnomedicinal plant knowledge and assessing gender differences in the use of the plants by male and female herbalists. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with herbalists, a total of 112 species belonging to 52 families in 93 genera were recorded to be in use. Seven plant families were known to account for 43.9% of the total number of species utilized including Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Costaceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae and Verbenaceae. Traditional herbalists comprising male (64%) and female (36%) possessed extensive knowledge of the use of these plants, with male and female herbalists showing specializations in several categories of health problems based on their knowledge of medicinal plants. Female herbalists possessed a slightly higher knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants than male herbalists. Many ailments were reported with a large number of the plants utilized for malaria, snakebites, ulcer, spiritual/witchcraft, infection and diarrhoea. New and unrecorded ethnomedicinal uses for several plants were documented, including Tetraberlinia tubmaniana J. Léonard, Delpydora gracilis A.Chev., Campylospermum subcordatum (Stapf) Farron, Cyathula prostrata Blume, Heisteria parvifolia Sm., Keetia rufivillosa (Robyns ex Hutch. & Dalz.) Bridson, Pavetta sonjae W.D.Hawth., Chrysophyllum pentagonocarpum Engl. & K.Krause, Placodiscus pseudostipularis Radlk, and the naturalized plant, Caladium bicolor (Aiton) Vent. Further documentation of this knowledge is recommended, with the goal of assessing gender differences in the use of medicinal plants in Liberia. Key words: Ethnomedicine, medicinal plants, herbalists, remedies, Liberia. INTRODUCTION Liberia is home to one of the richest flora in the Upper dating back to the 1800s, beginning with collections Guinean region of West Africa, with initial exploration made by European and American botanists like Bunting, *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +232-78615158. Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Lebbie et al. 265 Dinklage, Harley, Johnston, Leeuwenberg, Voorhoeve, areas (Farnsworth and Soejarto, 1991). As local etc. In recent times, additional documentations of the communities become speedily absorbed into the global flora were carried out in three National Forest Reserves, economy, ethnomedicinal plant knowledge can quickly with some 548 species recorded, including records of disappear and fears have been expressed in this regard three new species to science (Jongkind, 2007). It has (Lambert et al., 1997). Documenting the medicinal plant been estimated that some 2,300 species of vascular knowledge of forest dwelling communities is crucial plants occur in Liberia, although given the apparent before much of the forest disappears, and with it the location of two centers of endemism in the country, the extensive knowledge of traditional herbalists that interact actual number of plant species occurring in the country with this rich plant biodiversity. In this regard, the main might be higher (Poorter et al., 2004). objectives of this study were to document the This rich diversity of plants also features extensively in ethnomedicinal plant knowledge of herbalists in a forest the cultural heritage of the local inhabitants, and has region of Liberia, and to assess gender differences in the been a source of herbal remedies for several health use of plants by male and female herbalists. problems faced by the population. However, scientific documentations of the ethnomedicinal uses of the plants have been sporadic, and very little exist on the local uses MATERIALS AND METHODS to which these plants are put. Early documentations of th Study area this knowledge date back to the early 19 Century when a medical doctor stationed in the interior of the country Fieldwork for documenting the medicinal plant knowledge took documented the ethnomedicinal uses of over 200 place in central Rivercess County of Liberia, located some 320 km medicinal plants among the Mano of Nimba County from the capital city of Monrovia. Garpue Town was the main study (Harley, 1941). Similar documentations of plant use site (Figure 1), and its population like the rest of the county is among