Ethnobotanical study of curative plants used by traditional healers to treat rhinitis in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Studies focusing on plants used medicinally to heal and manage rhinitis are very scarce in Africa and elsewhere. Objectives: To document plants used by traditional healers (THs) in the treatment and management of rhinitis and related symptoms in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Methods: Data was gathered using a semi structured interviews with 105 THs in the Limpopo Province, supplemented by field expeditions for plant specimen collection and observation. Results: 63 plant species from 59 genera distributed across 40 botanical families, mainly the Asteraceae (7 spp.) and Euphorbiaceae (6 spp.) were therapeutically used by THs. Overall, 77 herbal recipes (87%=mono and 12.9%=poly), mainly prepared from roots (55.5%) and leaves (19%) were recorded. Most of these recipes were processed via pounding (59.7%) and boiling (20.7%). Oral (44.1%) and nasal (33.7%) was the preferred modes of dispensing remedies by THs. Artemisia afra, Clerodendrum ternatum, Cryptocarya transvaalensis, Enicostema axillare, Kalanchoe brachyloba, Lasiosiphon caffer, Lippia javanica, Schkuhria pinnata, Securidaca longepe-dunculata, Spirostachys africana, Stylochaeton natalensis and Zanthoxylum capense were the most widely used and preferred species for treatment of rhinitis and/or related symptom by all questioned THs. Conclusion: This study is the first to document plants used traditionally to treat rhinitis in Africa. Therefore, it provides a baseline data on the plants used to heal rhinitis in the Limpopo Province. Finding of this study can be used as apedestal for further investigation in to effective plant-based anti-rhinitis drugs.