Enthnobotanical survey of plant species used as mosquito repellants in Kimaanya Kabonera Sub- County, Masaka District- Central Uganda.

Abstract

Malaria is a life-threatening disease in humans, caused by the plasmodium parasite (Snow et al., 2005). Some of the plasmodium species implicated in malaria include Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. These parasites are transmitted through a bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The major malarial vectors in Uganda are Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus (Muyodi et al., 2009). A number of synthetic mosquito repellants have been developed against mosquitoes but are increasingly becoming less effective due to resistance and misuse. The majority of the mosquito repellants are chemical based and very expensive. They have side effects on both humans, like respiratory complications and allergies, as well as the environment, like degradation of the ozone layer when used with fluorocarbons. Moreover, their high costs imply a good number of people cannot access or afford them hence they are not enough to meet world demand. A total of 150 respondents were targeted for a semi structured questionnaire to identify the various mosquito repellant plants used by the people living in Masaka district. Elderly people (65 years and above) as well as herbalists and traditional healers were given particular interest in this study due to their extensive use and traditional knowledge profile about different plants. The researcher also used observation method to count the number of plants in the study area that have been cited in literature to possess mosquito repelling capabilities. These were averaged and analyzed using One-Way ANOVA to check for significance in difference in abundance.Data was processed and summarized into frequencies and percentages and presented as tables and frequency graphs. There was a significant (One Way ANOVA, P<0.0001) difference in the relative abundance of the plants that have been cited to have mosquito repellant properties as sighted by the researchers in the study area. Eucalyptus globulus was by far the most abundant mosquito repellant plant in the sampled areas. From the findings, the study population (n=150) had a slightly higher proportion of females to men at 51% compared to 49% respectively. The age of the respondents was normally distributed but with one tail (18-29) being relatively higher than expected.There is a strong need for government and relevant bodies to educate the population in Masaka district on the importance of the various plants there as it can be a viable method of reducing the malaria burden.