Ethnobotanical study of plants used as antimalarial in traditional medicine in Bagira in Eastern RD Congo

Abstract

This transversal descriptive study was carried out to collect plants and recipes used in Bagira to treat malaria. Direct interview with field enquiries allowed collecting ethnobotanical data. Eighty-four Informants (age 46.9 ± 12.0 years, sex ratio: 2.0, experience 12.1 ± 5.1 years) reported 53 species belonging to 24 families dominated by Fabaceae (22.6%) and Asteraceae (20.7%). Antiplasmodial activity was previously reported for 34 plants and 16 species are first cited as antimalarial plants among which Ekebergia benguelensis (18,8%), Dalbergia katangensis (14,1%) and Dialium angolense (14,1%), are the most cited. From these plants come 83 anti-malarial recipes of which 67 use a single plant and the other combine two to four plants. Leaf (≥52%) and decoction (≥58%) respectively constitute organ and preparation methods most used. Several plants are used in traditional medicine in Bagira against malaria, some of which deserve to be studied more to isolate new antimalarial compounds.