Ethnopharmacological Survey Of Medicinal Plants Among The Hamer Ethnic Group Hamer Woreda South Omo Zone Snnpr Ethiopia And Evaluation Of A Selected Plant For Its Antimalarial Activity

Health seeking behaviour of people around the globe will be affected by different socio-culturalrnand economical factors. People in Ethiopia, particularly tribal people have long history of usingrnmedicinal plants as a major component of their traditional medical practices over many centuriesrnto satisfy their health care needs. The transfer of this sort of knowledge from generation torngeneration is mainly effected by words of mouth. Cross-sectional survey was conducted torndocument ethnopharmacological information of the Hamer semi pastoralists by using semirnstructured questionnaires administered to eight traditional healers/key informants and onernthousand six hundred household (HH) respondents supplemented by eight focus grouprndiscussions (FGDs).rnThe majority (84%) of HH respondents were males, 94.4% of whom suffered illnesses in the lastrntwo weeks recall period and had taken action. The prevalence of the use of traditional medicinernamong the Hamer community was found to be very common as indicated by FGD participants,rnkey informants and HH respondents. HH respondents reported that traditional medical practicesrnare their first choice when family members get sick. Females’ preference of traditional medicalrnpractices was higher than males. The main reasons for the preference of the community membersrnto traditional medical practices include its effectiveness, low cost and ease of availability. A totalrnof sixty medicinal plants were reported and collected along with their local names, indication(s),rnparts used and method of preparations.rnThe health seeking behavior of the Hamer ethnic group is affected by different socioeconomicrnand cultural factors. There is also a strong indication for traditional medical practices and use ofrnplant materials to treat various ailments and health problems among the study population.rnTherefore, due attention should be given to these traditional medical practices.rnThe ethnopharmacological survey part of this study revealed that Aloe otallensis Baker., anrnindigenous Ethiopian plant, was among the most widely used medicinal plants by the membersrnof the Hamer Ethnic Group. The plant is used for the treatment of malaria and wound healing.rnMalaria, a diseases caused by protozoan parasites is a major obstacle to the socioeconomicrnxiirndevelopment of several developing countries including Ethiopia. The phytoconstituents of A.rnotallensis studied by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and its antimalarial and antioxidantrnactivities were assessed by in vivo four day Plasmodium berghei suppressive test and 1,1-rndiphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, respectively. The study revealed the presence ofrnpicataloside (2,8-O,O-di (β-D-glucopyranosyl)-1,2,8-trihydroxy-3-methylnaphtalene) in thernexudate of A. otallensis, which was isolated from the plant for the first time.rnThe study further showed that the leaf exudate of the plant possesses maximum antimalarialrnactivity (60.7% suppression) at a dose of 300 mg/kg. Similarly, at a dose of 100 mg/kg thernisolated compound suppressed P. berghei parasites by 47.9%. Both the exudate and the isolatedrncompound displayed comparable radical scavenging activity possessing IC50 value of 26.9 andrn26.2 μg/ml, respectively in DPPH assay. The results of the present study do seem to justify therntraditional use of A. ottalensis for the treatment of malaria.

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism