Ethnomedical Survey of Adavi and Ajaokuta Local Government Areas of Ebiraland, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

With the wide application of traditional medicine in primary health care around the world, there is need to explore and document medicinal plants used in many cultures. A mini-survey of medicinal plants used to treat different ailments in two local government areas, Adavi and Ajaokuta in Ebiraland of Kogi State, Nigeria was undertaken and the plants gathered include Ocimum canum (Labiatae), Heliotropium indicum (Boraginaceae), Anisopus mannii (Asclepidiceae), Senna alata (Caesalpiniaceae), Abrus precatorius (Papilionaceae), Desmodium velutinum (Papilionaceae), Caesalpinia bunduc (Caesalpiniaceae) and Ageratum conyzoides (Compositae). Others are Argemone mexicana (Papaveracea), Phyllantus amarus (Euphorbiaceae), Cassytha filiformis (Lauraceae), Spillanthes filicaulis (Compositae), Chenopodium ambrosiodes (Chenopodiaceae), Edipta alba (Compositae), Dennetia tripentala (Annonaceae) and Newbouldia laevis (Bignoniaceae). The rationales behind the use of these plants for different ailments are discussed against the background of their reported phytochemical constituents and medicinal uses in Nigerian and other cultures. However, there is need to scientifically evaluate these plants to confirm their therapeutic efficacy against diseases indicated and to validate their use in the traditional medical practice of the Ebira people of Kogi State.