Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Ethnopharmacology 115 (2008) 387–408 Ethnobotanical survey of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria Kola K. Ajibesin a,∗, Benjamin A. Ekpo a, Danladi N. Bala a, Etienne E. Essien b, Saburi A. Adesanya c a Department of Pharmacognosy & Natural Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria b Department of Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria c Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria Received 30 July 2006; received in revised form 3 October 2007; accepted 10 October 2007 Available online 23 October 2007 Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: The medicinal plants employed in the ethnomedicine of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria are studied. Aim of the study: The survey aims at identifying and documenting the plants used amongst the indigenes of Akwa Ibom State. Materials and methods: Using ethnobotanical survey list, information is gathered through personal interviews with traditional medical practitioners, community elders and patients. Results: A total of 114 medicinal plant species representing 102 genera and 54 families employed in the traditional medical practice of the people of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria are recorded from 930 homes. Ailments such as skin diseases, malaria, gonorrhoea and haemorrhoids are mostly treated with the medicinal plants. Details pertaining to the preparation and administration of plant drugs are provided. Conclusions: The survey provides a veritable source of information for traditional medical practitioners and medicinal plant researchers. These medicinal plants may be incorporated into the healthcare delivery system of the country. © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Medicinal plants; Akwa Ibom State; Nigeria 1. Introduction same or related ethnomedical purposes, were derived from 94 species of plants. Ethnobotanical survey has been found to be one of the reliable Several active compounds have been discovered from plants approaches to drug discovery (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001). on the basis of ethnobotanical information, and used directly Ethnomedical information from this approach can be gathered as patented drugs. Maprouneacin isolated from Maprounnea either from plants used in organized traditional medical sys- africana is used as an antidiabetic agent (Carney et al., 1999). tem such as Ayurveda, Unani and traditional Chinese medicine Taxol obtained from Taxus breviflora is used as an antitu- (Bannerman et al., 1975; Bannerman, 1979), or from herbalism, mour drug (Samuelsson, 1992). Artemisinin, discovered from folklore and shamanism which concentrate on an apprenticeship Artemisia annua, is used as a potent antimalarial compound system of information passed to the next generation through a against Plasmodium strains resistant to all known antimalarials traditional healer or herbalist (Rastogi and Dhawan, 1982). This (Klayman, 1993). system of medicine is widely practiced in South America and Some other plants have been reported to produce drugs that Africa. serve as leads for the next generation of drugs. For instance, The World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medical the basic structural formula of verapamil, a synthetic drug used Programme (Farnsworth et al., 1985) has provided the evidence to treat hypertension, was derived from that of papaverine, a that ethnomedical information can lead to valuable drug discov- smooth muscle relaxant obtained from Papaver somniferum. ery. A total of 122 compounds, 80% of which were used for the Galegine, an active antihyperglycaemic agent, isolated from Galega officinalis L., the plant used ethnobotanically to treat diabetes, provided the lead for the synthesis of metformin and ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +234 8038937431. aroused interest in the synthesis of other biguanidine-type antidi- E-mail address: kay [email protected] (K.K. Ajibesin). abetic drugs (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001). 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.10.021 388 K.K. Ajibesin et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 115 (2008) 387–408 One of the major advantages of choosing plants as the start- 3. Materials and methods ing point in drug development through ethnobotanical survey is that the active constituents of such plants which have undergone The pieces of information gathered on various data such as long-term use by man are likely to be safer than the active com- local names, plant part used, therapeutic effect, diseases treated, pounds isolated from plants with no history of ethnomedical use methods of preparation, methods of administration, doses and (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001). duration of treatment, were obtained, through personal inter- In Akwa Ibom State, ethnomedicine is an integral part of view, from traditional medical practitioners, community elders the people’s culture. In fact, about 75% of the people rely on and patients. The ethnobotanical survey exercise was executed traditional medicine for health care delivery (Petters et al., 1994; between August 2000 and December 2002. Etukudo, 2000, 2003). Various medicinal plants are used to treat Thirty homes in each of the local government area were mild and severe diseases. Some work has been done on the flora visited resulting in the interview of 930 households (one inter- and ethnobotany of the State (Etukudo, 2000, 2003), but there is viewee per household). At least 20 homes visited were selected no detailed information on the plants. For instance, the sources to comprise a traditional medical practitioner each, while the of the medicinal plants as well as the method of preparation remaining 10 homes had either a community elder or a patient. are not given. However, some articles have given reports on the The ratio of male to female was 60:40, while their mean age antimicrobial (Odoemena and Essien, 1995), nutritional (Isong was 65 years. The people interviewed were members of all the and Idiong, 1997), antimalarial (Okokon et al., 2005) and toxic different ethnic groups – Ibibio, Eket, Annang, Oron, Andoni, effects (Ajibesin et al., 2002) of some of the plants endemic in Okobo – comprising the 31 local government areas of the State. the State. In the interview, enquiries regarding what ailments were treated by what plant species were made. This appears to be a better approach to appropriate data collection than if enquiries 2. Study area were made as to what plants were used to treat what ailments. In this case, the informant usually found medicinal use for any plant Akwa Ibom State is located within the south-eastern axis of indicated. Information was gathered according to the survey list Nigeria, flanked by Cross-River, Abia and Rivers States on the of Sofowora (1993). In the process, plant specimens implicated sandy deltaic coastal plain of the Guinea Coast. The State is were collected, and subsequently preserved and stored in the bounded on the southern margin by the Atlantic Ocean (Petters herbarium of the Department of Pharmacognosy and Natural et al., 1994). Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo. The plants 2 Akwa Ibom State covers a total land area of 8412 km , were identified by the use of the flora of Nigeria and West Africa encompassing the entire Qua Iboe River basin, the western part (Hutchinson and Dalziel, 1954, 1958, 1968; Keay et al., 1964; of the lower Imo River basin. The State lies between latitudes Stanfield and Lowe, 1987) as well as by the use of other publica- ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 4 32 and 5 53 North and longitudes 7 25 and 8 25 East. tions on medicinal plants (Iwu, 1986; Etukudo, 2000, 2003). All The State is characterized by three broad physical outlines. the local government areas comprising the State were covered, The first one is the marshy river-washed soils around the riverine and are listed with their reference numbers: 1, Uyo; 2, Ibesikpo areas. The second outline is the flat low-lying lands that consti- Asutan; 3, Nsit Ibom; 4, Nsit Atai; 5, Ikot Ekpene; 6, Essien tute most of the State. The third physical feature is the extensive Udim; 7, Obot Akara; 8.Abak; 9, Etim Ekpo; 10; Ukanafun; 11, high ground with undulating hills which stand out in marked Oruk Anam; 12, Ika; 13, Mkpat Enin; 14, Ikot Abasi; 15.Udung relief against the low-lying lands. The landscape of Akwa Ibom Uko; 16, Eastern Obolo; 17, Nsit Ubium; 18, Etinan; 19, Onna; State bears altitudes of 45–70 m. 20, Eket; 21, Esit Eket; 22, Ibeno; 23, Ikono; 24, Ibiono; 25, Itu; Akwa Ibom State is located within the forest zone of Nige- 26, Uruan; 27, Okobo; 28, Oruko; 29, Mbo; 30, Oron; 31, Ini. ria, and has the tropical rainy climate. The forest vegetation is divided into three types: saline water swamp forest which com- 3.1. Performance index of medicinal plants prises woodlands, fresh water swamp forest which consists of small trees, shrubs and grasses, and rainforest which mainly The performance index applied here was proposed by Betti has tall trees. These types of vegetation serve as a replenishable (2002). To analyze the data, ‘specific flora’ is defined as the source of ingredients for phytomedicine in the State (Petters et list of plants used for treating a specific ailment, symptom or al., 1994). physiological effect. The ‘global flora’ is defined as the total list Akwa Ibom State comprises 31 local government areas of plants recorded to be used for all types of ailments in a specific presently with a population of about 2,300,000. The State is place such as Akwa Ibom State. The relationship between the composed mainly of the Ibibio, Eket, Annang, Oron, Andoni and ‘specific flora’ and the ‘global flora’ can be inferred thus: if the Okobo ethnic groups, with the Ibibio forming the largest ethnic use of a specific plant for a specific ailment is randomly selected, group in the State (Udo, 1984), and the fourth largest ethnic the proportion of the number of citations to the total number of group in Nigeria (Talbot, 1969).