Documentation on Medicinal Plants Sold in Markets in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Purpose : To document the medicinal values, local names, method of preparation, dosage forms and parts of common medicinal plants sold in some markets in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Methods : Ethnobotanical data were collected by oral interview and with the aid of a structured questionnaire administered to men, women and young girls. The data from respondents from the five local markets surveyed were documented. Results: The results show that a total of 60 medicinal plant species are commonly used by the people of Abeokuta in their traditional health care system. Most of the plant materials were in dried form and sold singly or in combination with other plants and are used in the treatment of various ailments such as malaria, hypertension, typhoid, jaundice, hyperthermia, skin irritations, dysentery, anaemia, gonorrhea, cough, measles and fibroid. A majority of the plants were trees. The respondents were women (64.3 %), young girls (28.5 %) and men (7.14 %). Conclusion : The findings support the need to encourage domestication and cultivation of medicinal plants as well as put in place conservation measures to ensure sustainable source of medicinal plants.


INTRODUCTION
Plants have been major sources of medicine and plant secondary metabolites has been attributed for most plants' therapeutic activities [1,2]. Phytomedicines have shown great promise in the treatment of intractable infectious diseases [3]. The local uses of plants and products in health care are even much higher particularly in those areas with little or no access to modern health services [4].
Traditional medicine practice is an important part of healthcare delivery system in most of the developing world [5] and is a source of primary health care to 80 % of the world's population [6]. Traditional medicine has been reported to be the first medical care known to Nigerians and herbal medicine, an aspect of traditional medicine, is becoming increasingly popular in both developing and developed countries [7]. Traditional medical knowledge of medicinal plants and their use by indigenous culture are not only useful for conservation of cultural traditions and biodiversity but also for community healthcare and drug development now and in the future [8,9] Global and national markets for medicinal herbs have been growing rapidly and significant economic gains are being realized with global sales of herbal products which totalled an estimated US $60 million in 2000 [10]. Local markets form an integral part of the life and culture of the people of Abeokuta, Nigeria. The markets are also important socio-economic institutions. The traders in these markets sell large amounts of medicinal plants to the indigenes and foreigners who seek their help. Most of the plant parts (barks, roots, stems and leaves) are sold in dried form.
Market survey is an efficient means of acquiring data on local values and conservation status of indigenous species [11,12]. However, an understanding of the market profile, socioeconomic attributes influencing trade, species traded and impact of trade on plant pollution is critical for effective resource management [13].
The present survey aims at documenting the common medicinal plants sold in some local markets in Abeokuta, Nigeria as well as their medicinal values, local names, parts used and dosage forms.

Study area
The study was carried out in Omida, Itoku, Adatan, Kuto and Lafenwa markets in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Abeokuta is located within longitude 3 0 21 / East and latitude 7 0 11 / North. The city of Abeokuta covers the geopolitical areas of Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South Local Government Areas of the State. The Yorubas are the main ethnic group in the area but the original settlers are the Egbas who founded the historic city. The dialectical groups in the area include Egbado, Ijebu, Egba, Remo, Oyo (Owu), Awori, Ikale and Ilaje. The people are known for traditional arts, carving and sculpturing. Abeokuta is surrounded by large mass of rocks and has a population of about one million people.

Survey
This ethnomedicinal survey was conducted in October 2008 to obtain pertinent information about medicinal plants traded in the area. Ethnomedicinal data collected was based on oral interview with the aid of a structured questionnaire and only data from willing respondents were documented. It was observed that a majority of the medicinal plant traders were women. However, the responses of some the traders in the course of the interviews were unfruitful as they refused to give details of their average income, duration of trade, mode of collection and the problems encountered during sourcing of medicinal plants. They were very forthcoming in giving details of the local names, medicinal use, method of preparation, parts used, and dosages of the medicinal plants they sell. All the herbal medicines were prepared by either decoction or maceration.

Collection and Identification of plant samples
Plant samples were collected from five randomly selected markets in Abeokuta, Ogun State after the oral interviews with the traders. The plant samples were immediately labelled with their local names with which they were purchased and placed in clean dry baskets. They were later transferred with polythene bags to the point of identification. Most of the plant samples were identified by one of the co-authors of this work (MI). Other samples were identified using their local names and standard texts [14,15].
Samples of the plants were kept in the herbarium of the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Benin.

RESULTS
The survey revealed a total of 60 commonly used plants distributed into 56 genera belonging to 31 families used among the people of Abeokuta in traditional healthcare. The plants are listed alphabetically in order of family names (Table 1a-e). Other information relating to their local names, medicinal uses, method of preparation, parts used and dosages were also documented.

DISCUSSION
The collection of minor forest products or non-timber forest products is the main source of the economy of tribal people [16]. The traders depend on the sale of medicinal plants for their source of income and livelihood.
Most of the plant materials in the market were in dried forms and sold singly or in combination with other plants ("concoctions") to the public. The concoctions consisted of chopped root and barks and fresh leaves and fruits and were prepared either by decoction, tincture or through maceration. Some of the medicinal plants were also in powdered form or in solutions and administered as such. Most of the remedies were prepared from a single plant source, e.g., Alstonia boonei (for treating malaria and body pain), Garcinia kola (for body pain relief), and Ficus capensis (as blood booster); a few others were in combination with other common plants such as Cassia sieberiana with Allium sativum and Eugenia aromatic(for dysentery). The concoctions were also generally provided on demand rather than prepared in advance, in order to prevent spoilage.
The major medicinal plants traded in the area were derived from trees and this accords with an earlier report about the predominance of tree species in Bachama ethnomedicine [17]. The collected medicinal plants were found to be very common among the people and were used in traditional healthcare for a variety of disease conditions such as malaria, typhoid, jaundice, hyperthermia, skin irritations, dysentery, anaemia, gonorrhea, cough, measles, hypertension and fibroid.
It was observed that the majority of medicinal plant traders were women (64.29 %) between the age group of 40 -60 years. Young girls make up 28.5 % within the age group of 17 -26 years of the traders visited while 7.14 % were men in the age group of 28 -38 years. The former accords with earlier reports [11] that the women constitute the major traders of medicinal plant materials.

CONCLUSION
The use of herbal medicine has always been part of human culture, including African culture. The rising demand for medicinal plants has led to increased pressure on wild plant populations and shrinking habitats. It is obvious that the bulk of the plants traded in the local markets are sourced from the wild which could result in local extinction. There     is, therefore, the need to encourage domestication and cultivation of medicinal plants as well as put in place conservation measures to ensure sustainable source of plant materials.