Ethnomedicinal Survey of Some Plants Used for the Treatment of Various Ailments in Gumel Town, Jigawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

An ethnomedicinal survey was carried out to document medicinal plants used by the people of Gumel Town, Jigawa State, Nigeria. 100 questionnaires were distributed to herbal sellers and old people with traditional medicine knowledge. The result of the research reported 43 plants species belonging to 25 different families used by the people of the study area for the treatment of various ailments. Most of the plants reported belong to the family Fabaceae with 10 species followed by Malvaceae and Moraceae with 3, Apocynaceae, Meliaceae and Rubiaceae each with two species while the rest of the other families were represented with a single species each. Leaves and stem bark were recorded as the plant part mostly use in the treatment of various ailments. Most of the plants surveyed are trees (65.12%), others are shrubs (30.23%) while a few are herbs (4.65%). Some of the plants documented like Azadirachta indica and Ziziphus abyssinica are used in the treatment of more than one ailment. Majority of the traditional medicine practitioners were males of over 50 years of age and with no formal education. This is a serious problem that may lead to the disappearance of this important knowledge and so public awareness, further researches, documentation and preservation of the indigenous knowledge is recommended.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Medicinal plant, Pile, Ailment, Diarrhea.