Ethnobotanical study of plants used by the traditional healers to treatmalaria in Mogovolas district, northern Mozambique

Abstract

Introduction:Malaria is an important parasitic disease that affects mostly the African continent. Traditionalmedicine is very important in Mozambique and traditional healers play a key role in the primary health careservices, particularly in rural areas. We aim to report the results of an ethnobotanical survey undertaken inMogovolas district, northern region of Mozambique. We recorded and identified the medicinal plants used bytraditional healers for treatment of malaria, as well as the mode of preparation and administration.Methods:The study was conducted in 14 villages from Mogovolas between June and August 2015. Sixteentraditional healers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Under their guidance, we collectedmedicinal plants and prepared herbarium specimens that were sent and kept at Eduardo Mondlane UniversityHerbarium for scientific identification. We searched for information on thein vitroandin vivostudies of the citedplants for antiplasmodial activity.Results:Traditional healers from Mogovolas district reported the use of 37 plants to treat malaria, belonging to 22families. The most used species areOchna kirkiiOliv. (5 citations),Ehretia amoenaKlotzsch andPteleopsis myrtifolia(M.A.Lawson) Engl.&Diels (both with 3 citations). These plants belong to Ochnaceae, Boraginaceae and Com-bretaceae families, respectively. The herbal remedies are prepared using leaves (22/37), roots (18/37), stembarks (16/37) and stems (3/37). The administration of the herbal remedies was made essentially by oral routeand bathing.Conclusion:The ethnobotanical data resulted from this study can be the starting point for further chemical andpharmacological studies aiming to identify medicinal species with antimalarial activity, thus, open the insights forthe discovery of new antimalarial substances, as well as better integration of the traditional medicine into thenational health systems, particularly in developing countries, as the health system coverage is limited.