Medicinal plants used for treatment of diabetes by traditional practitioners in the markets of Abidjan district in Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Diabetes is a serious metabolic disorder. In Cote d'Ivoire, many plants are used as traditional medicines to treat diabetes and are sold on the popular markets of cities. The purpose of this work was to achieve an ethnobotanical investigation, with particular emphasis on herbal medicine. Three markets of Abidjan district were visited and we encountered 270 vendors of plants, aged of 30 to 60 years. Thus, 87 species of antidiabetic plants were identified. Various parts of the plant (root, stem, leaves, whole plant, flowers, fruits) are used to develop drug treatments. The drug preparation methods are varied (decoction, infusion, maceration, kneading). Among the 87 plants identified, 21 are used to treat diabetes and other ailments. The decoction is the most used mode of preparation of the plants sold in the district of Abidjan markets (75%) by traditional practitioners for the treatment of diabetes.