Biniam, Paulos (2012) Ethnopharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants among the Hamer Ethnic Group, Hamer Woreda, South Omo Zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia and Evaluation of a Selected Plant for its Antimalarial Activity. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
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Abstract
Health seeking behaviour of people around the globe will be affected by different socio-cultural and economical factors. People in Ethiopia, particularly tribal people have long history of using medicinal plants as a major component of their traditional medical practices over many centuries to satisfy their health care needs. The transfer of this sort of knowledge from generation to generation is mainly effected by words of mouth. Cross-sectional survey was conducted to document ethnopharmacological information of the Hamer semi pastoralists by using semi structured questionnaires administered to eight traditional healers/key informants and one thousand six hundred household (HH) respondents supplemented by eight focus group discussions (FGDs). The majority (84%) of HH respondents were males, 94.4% of whom suffered illnesses in the last two weeks recall period and had taken action. The prevalence of the use of traditional medicine among the Hamer community was found to be very common as indicated by FGD participants, key informants and HH respondents. HH respondents reported that traditional medical practices are their first choice when family members get sick. Females’ preference of traditional medical practices was higher than males. The main reasons for the preference of the community members to traditional medical practices include its effectiveness, low cost and ease of availability. A total of sixty medicinal plants were reported and collected along with their local names, indication(s), parts used and method of preparations. The health seeking behavior of the Hamer ethnic group is affected by different socioeconomic and cultural factors. There is also a strong indication for traditional medical practices and use of plant materials to treat various ailments and health problems among the study population. Therefore, due attention should be given to these traditional medical practices. The ethnopharmacological survey part of this study revealed that Aloe otallensis Baker., an indigenous Ethiopian plant, was among the most widely used medicinal plants by the members of the Hamer Ethnic Group. The plant is used for the treatment of malaria and wound healing. Malaria, a diseases caused by protozoan parasites is a major obstacle to the socioeconomic xii development of several developing countries including Ethiopia. The phytoconstituents of A. otallensis studied by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and its antimalarial and antioxidant activities were assessed by in vivo four day Plasmodium berghei suppressive test and 1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, respectively. The study revealed the presence of picataloside (2,8-O,O-di (β-D-glucopyranosyl)-1,2,8-trihydroxy-3-methylnaphtalene) in the exudate of A. otallensis, which was isolated from the plant for the first time. The study further showed that the leaf exudate of the plant possesses maximum antimalarial activity (60.7% suppression) at a dose of 300 mg/kg. Similarly, at a dose of 100 mg/kg the isolated compound suppressed P. berghei parasites by 47.9%. Both the exudate and the isolated compound displayed comparable radical scavenging activity possessing IC50 value of 26.9 and 26.2 μg/ml, respectively in DPPH assay. The results of the present study do seem to justify the traditional use of A. ottalensis for the treatment of malaria.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) S Agriculture > SB Plant culture |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Vincent Mpoza |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Jul 2018 11:21 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Jul 2018 11:21 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/6658 |
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