Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used as insects repellents in six malaria endemic localities of Cameroon

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4637545
AutoresRoger Ducos Youmsi Fokouo (0000-0001-7109-7338, Université de Yaoundé I), Roger Ducos Fokouo Youmsi, Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou (0000-0003-3724-3527, Université de Yaoundé I), Elisabeth Zeuko’o Menkem (0000-0002-0878-5020, Université de Yaoundé I), Issakou Bakarnga-Via, Issakou Bakarnga‐via (Université de Yaoundé I), Rodrigue Keumoe (Université de Yaoundé I), Victor Nana (National Radiation Protection Agency of Cameroon), Fabrice Fekam Boyom (0000-0002-3147-364X, Université de Yaoundé I, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen13
Número1
Páginas33-33
Fecha de publicación2017-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1746-4269 • E-ISSN: 1746-4269
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/s13002-017-0155-x
PMID28595645
OpenAlexW2621587298
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas44

BACKGROUND: The combined efforts to combat outdoor/indoor transmission of malaria parasites are hampered by the emerging vector resistance in a wide variety of malaria-endemic settings of Africa and the rest of the world, stressing the need for alternative control measures. This study aimed at documenting insect's repellent plant species used by indigenous populations of 6 localities of East, South, West and Centre regions of Cameroon. METHODS: Information was gathered through face-to-face interviews guided by a semi-structured questionnaire on the knowledge of medicinal plants with insect repellent properties. RESULTS: A total of 182 informants aged from 25 to 75 years were recruited by convenience from May to June 2015. The informants had general knowledge about insects' repellent plants (78.6%). A total of 16 plant species were recorded as insects' repellents with 50% being trees. The most cited plants were Canarium schweinfurthii (Burseraceae) (in four localities, 58/182), Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae) (in three localities, 38/182), Chromolaena odorata (Compositae) (16/182) and Citrus limon (Rutaceae) (11/182) in two localities each. Among the repellent plant species recorded, 50% were reported to be burnt to produce in-house smokes, 31.2% were mashed and applied on the body, and 18.8% were hung in the houses. The leaf was the most commonly used plant part (52.9%), followed by the bark (17.6%). CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that rural populations of the 6 targeted localities possess indigenous knowledge on repellent plants that are otherwise cost-effective and better choice for repelling insects including malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Meanwhile, such practices should be validated experimentally and promoted as sustainable malaria transmission control tools in the remotely located communities

Agroforestry · Arecaceae · Biology · Chromolaena odorata · Ethnobotany · Geography · Indigenous · Insect repellent · Malaria · Medicinal plants · Palm · Traditional medicine · Weed · African Botany and Ecology Studies · Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies · Insect Pest Control Strategies · Insect Utilization and Effects · Ecology