Open AccessETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA
Author(s) -
Ihinmikaye Samuel Olatokunbo,
D Akinjagunla Atinuke
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of engineering applied science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2455-2143
DOI - 10.33564/ijeast.2020.v05i01.135
Subject(s) - ethnobotany , indigenous , traditional medicine , state (computer science) , medicinal plants , geography , socioeconomics , medicine , biology , sociology , mathematics , ecology , algorithm
An ethnomedicinal study was conducted in the rural communities of Bayelsa State, Nigeria to investigate and document plants used for medicinal purposes. The study was carried out in communities situated onshore, and offshore being islands. Knowledge of medicinal plants and their abundance status were investigated systematically via ecological approach. A total of 106 medicinal plants belonged to 53 families were documented. Members of the families Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Annonaceae and Apocynaceae were the most prevalence for medicine. The species accessed exhibit varying growth pattern, and the local people employs different approaches (which are unsustainable) for their extraction. The botanicals are mostly administered orally to treat different kinds of ailments: leaves were the mostly utilized part for medicine. Relative frequency of citation reveals the local importance of each medicinal plant among the respondents; it ranged from 0.20 to 1.00. The abundance status of the medicinal plants (encountered and reported by the respondents in the study area) reveals that 72.6% of the species are abundant, 12.3% are frequent, and 10.4% are occasional, while 4.7% are rarely encountered in the area. Bayelsa State is an important ecological area in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; however, as western influence gradually erodes traditional plant knowledge, it is important to document knowledge of medicinal plants in the area. The results presented here could be of great value for further researches on plant species of interest in relation to the potential use of their bioactive constituents.