An Inventory of wetland plants with medicinal properties in Kenya

Abstract

There is absence of information on biodiversity of wild medicinal plants in wetlands across the world. This study therefore, documented the wild medicinal plants of wetlands in Kenya. The study was conducted through secondary data and scooping review methodology. A total of 122 species of medicinal plant in 42 families were reported previously. Most of medicinal plants in wetlands belong to the family Fabaceae (16), Asteraceae (14), Euphorbiaceae (10) and Lamiaceae (7). The medicinal plants were mostly used in treatment of diarrhea (46), general and unspecified ailments (42), fever (37) and chest problems (32), eye problem (32), typhoid (29) and asthma (28). Finally, the most commonly used part of the plants were roots, stems, leaves and branches. Undertaking a comprehensive inventory of wetland medicinal plants is recommended as a strategy to provide the missing information that would encourage conservation of wetlands as potential source of medicinal plants.