Medicinal Plants from the Ouaddaï Province (Chad): An Ethnobotanical Survey of Plants Used in Traditional Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Plants are the basis of all health care systems. This study sought to inventory the most used medicinal plants in the local therapeutic patrimony of the Ouaddaï (East Chad) through an ethnobotanical investigation. METHODS: The inventory described the plant parts used, their mode of preparation, and their therapeutic uses. RESULTS: Thirty-eight plants species are used for different purposes and diseases. The most used species belongs to the Mimosaceae (eight species), Caesalpiniaceae (four species), and Combretaceae (four species) families. The traditional medicinal uses, as well as the preparations, of these plants are diverse. The used parts are leaves (36.4%), peels (23.7%), fruits (18.2%), roots (10.9%), stems (5.5%), and other (5.3%). These plants are used to treat 16 different illnesses, notably amoebiasis (26.8%), respiratory infections (14.3%), fever (12.5%), kidney stones (7.1%), snake bites (7.1%), tooth decay (5.4%), and leprosy (5.4%). CONCLUSION: The results obtained from this survey constitute the starting point of an inventory of local medicinal plants to be completed by phytochemical, pharmacologic, and toxicologic studies to allow good exploitation of the local medicinal flora.