An ethnopharmacological study of plants used for treating respiratory infections in rural Maputaland
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Date
2012
Authors
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
This study aimed, firstly, to perform an ethnobotanical survey, focusing on lay people’s
knowledge on plants used for treating respiratory infections in northern Maputaland, KwaZulu-
Natal, South Africa. Eighty homesteads were visited purposively and ethnobotanical information
was gathered using structured questionnaires. The study documented 30 plant species, with
Acanthospermum glabratum, Aloe marlothii, Krauseola mosambicina, Ozoroa obovata,
Parinari capensis subsp. incohata and Plectranthus neochilus recorded for the first time,
globally, as medicinal plants used for treating respiratory ailments and related symptoms. The
two most frequently used plant species were the indigenous Lippia javanica, followed by the
exotic Eucalyptus grandis. Both these plant species are highly aromatic. For eight of the 30 plant
species used, new vernacular names, not recorded before, were given by the interviewees.
Although six of the 80 interviewees were healers, the current study focused on lay knowledge,
which makes the information recorded during the current survey invaluable.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Science in Botany in the Department of Botany at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012.
Keywords
Ethno-botanical, Respiratory infections -- plants, Respiratory infections -- treatment