Traditional herbal drugs of Bulamogi, Uganda: plants, use and administration

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Abstract

We present here an inventory of the medicinal plants of Bulamogi county in Uganda, including their medicinal use, preparation and administration modes. Fieldwork for this study was conducted between June 2000 and June 2001 using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation as well as transect walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. We recorded 229 plant species belonging to 168 genera in 68 families with medicinal properties. A large proportion of these plants are herbaceous. The medicinal plants are mainly collected from the wild. Some species, such as Sarcocephalus latifolius (Smith) Bruce, are believed by the community to be threatened by unsustainable intensities of use and patterns of harvesting. Particularly vulnerable are said to be the woody or the slow growing species. Herbal medicines are prepared as decoctions, infusions, powders, or as ash, and are administered in a variety of ways. Other concoctions consist of juices and saps. The purported therapeutic claims await validation. Validation in our opinion can help to promote confidence among users of traditional medicine, and also to create opportunities for the marketing of herbal medicines and generate incomes for the community. The processing, packaging and storage of herbal medicines is substandard and require improvement.

Introduction

Traditional medicine (TM) occupies a central place among rural communities of developing countries for the provision of health care in the absence of an efficient primary health care system (World Health Organization, 1995, Sheldon et al., 1997, Teh, 1998, Shrestha and Dhillion, 2003; Tabuti et al., 2003a). The existence of TM depends on plant species diversity and related knowledge of their use as herbal medicines (Sheldon et al., 1997, Svarstad and Dhillion, 2000, Laird, 2002). In addition both plant species and traditional knowledge (TK) are important to the herbal medicine trade and the pharmaceutical industry, whereby plants provide raw materials, and TK the prerequisite information (Farnsworth, 1990, Johns et al., 1990, Sheldon et al., 1997, Dhillion and Amundsen, 2000, Carlson et al., 2001, Dhillion et al., 2002, Laird, 2002, Nelson-Harrison et al., 2002). Unfortunately both plant species and TK are threatened in various ways. Medicinal plants species or their populations are threatened by habitat modification and unsustainable rates of exploitation (World Bank, 1992, Sheldon et al., 1997, Dhillion and Amundsen, 2000), while TK is threatened by loss of plant diversity (Farooque and Saxena, 1996; Tabuti et al., 2003b), urbanisation, modernisation and low income of traditional medicine practitioners (Tsey, 1997, Ugent, 2000; Tabuti et al., 2003a). Against this background it is important that immediate steps are taken to protect both plant species diversity and associated TK.

In an attempt to conserve traditional medicine knowledge, it is necessary that inventories of plants with therapeutic value are carried out, and the knowledge related to their use documented in systematic studies. These studies can have other values too for society besides conserving TK, for they can help to identify plants with market potential that can help generate incomes for local communities. Generation of incomes for local communities is seen as an important motivation for the conservation of local species (Shackleton, 2001). Further, studies related to herbal medicines can help to stimulate confidence in TM and enhance appreciation of herbal medicines among local communities. As a consequence local communities will have a higher appreciation of the value of their plant resources and take efforts to conserve them (Sheldon et al., 1997, Shackleton, 2001).

In this paper, we present an inventory of the known medicinal plants of Bulamogi county, in Uganda, and the TK pertaining to their use, including processing, preparation and administration.

Bulamogi county is found approximately 220 km north-east of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It is located between 33°20′–33°38′E and 0°58′E–1°18′N at an altitude of 1052–1098 m a.s.l. (Uganda Government, 1963). The county has an area of approximately ca. 870 km2 and is made up of five subcounties, viz. Nawaikoke, Gadumire, Namwiwa, Bumanya and Namugongo. Within each sub-county, there are several parishes, each made up of a number of villages.

Bulamogi has four major land use categories: non-uniform small-scale farmland (67.4%), wetlands (16.4%) dominated by Cyperus papyrus, woodlands (3.6%) dominated by Albizia zygiaCombretum spp.–Hyparrhenia rufa association, and Albizia zygiaCombretum molleBrachiaria decumbens association, grasslands (2.6%) dominated by Sorghastrum stipoides, all other categories including bushlands take up less than 1% of the land area; the remainder of the area is open water (Langdale-Brown, 1959, Forest Department, 1997).

Bulamogi county has an estimated population of 150,000 people and a population density of 100–199 people/km2 basing on the population census of 1990 (Statistics Department, 1992). The people of Bulamogi are subsistence peasant farmers whose main sources of income are crop agriculture, growing mostly sweet potatoes, maize, finger millet, cassava, sorghum, groundnuts, cotton, and fruit plants especially oranges and mangoes; some also practice livestock farming, fishing and timber felling (Anonymous, 2000).

According to Mr. M. Wambuzi, the Medical Assistant in charge of Namwiwa sub-county health centre, the most common ailments of Bulamogi include malaria, respiratory tract infections, intestinal worms, diarrhoea, diseases of the eye, anaemia, measles, itchy skin rashes, fungal infections, jaundice, tonsillitis, hernias, gastroenteritis, pyomyositis, bubo, salpingitis, syphilis, ulcers, and false teeth in babies ‘biino’. Health care is provided by both orthodox and traditional medicine systems. The people routinely consult traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) for chronic and psycho-spiritual illnesses (Tabuti et al., 2003a). Traditional medicine practitioners are usually elderly men, older than 30 years and are commonly registered with traditional medicine healers associations. They have extensive experience of traditional healing, and learn the craft of healing by apprenticing under senior TMPs. Traditional medicine practitioners posses modest education usually comprising of primary level.

Section snippets

Methods

Fieldwork for this study was carried out between June 2000 and June 2001. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, guided questionnaires, direct observations, and transect walks (see Martin, 1995). Prior to any contact with the local community this study was introduced to the County Officer—this introduction was always repeated when entering a new administrative area such as a sub-county or a village. Two research assistants were hired. The research assistants had grown up in the

Herbal medicine plants

In this study we recorded a total of 229 medicinal plant species, belonging to 168 genera in 68 families (Table 1). All species except Cupressus lusitanica Mill. (Cupressaceae) are angiosperms. Of the angiosperms, five families, Poaceae, Asparagaceae, Alliaceae, Zingiberaceae and Orchidaceae, are monocotyledons; the rest are dicotyledons. The largest proportion of medicinal plant species belong to the families Fabaceae (19%), Euphorbiaceae (7.5%), Asteraceae (5.8%) and Solanaceae (4.9%) in

Conclusion

A large number of plant species, mainly from the families Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, and Solanaceae are used as herbal medicines. The traditional preparation practices of herbal medicines are un-hygienic and need to be controlled for product safety. The therapeutic claims over these herbal medicines have not yet been evaluated for efficacy. These claims must be validated in order to raise confidence among clients of traditional medicine, and to also help create markets for some of the

Acknowledgments

The people of Bulamogi who generously shared their knowledge are deeply thanked and acknowledged. This project was supported by project funds from NORAD and NUFU project 13/2002. The research is linked to that of the Management of Biodiversity Group, TERG and NTFP research at SUM-University of Oslo and IBN, Agricultural University of Norway led by S.S. Dhillion. The Botany Department of Makerere University Uganda provided the local logistics. We thank Prof. R. Bukenya-Ziraba for his

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