Medicinal plants used in Southern division of Kabale District,in the treatment of diarrhorea in under five children and their conservation.

Abstract

Childhood diarrhea is the second leading cause of child mortality and morbidity in low income countries and kills around 52000 children every year at a global scale. The increased use of these medicinal plants could increase the risk of extinction if not properly conserved and sustainably used. This study therefore aimed to identify and document the medicinal plants used in the treatment of diarrhea in under five children in Southern division of Kabale district, to bridge the gap in literature about medicinal plants used to manage diarrhea in children in the study region. A cross- sectional survey was conducted on 60 respondents using semi- structured interviews. This was supplemented with observational survey using a digital camera. Data was collected after conducting a pilot study that involved prior informed consent by the help of Local Council Chairpersons. Fifty-two plant species were identified and documented and they were distributed in 14 families. The most representative family was the Asteraceae with 8 species, followed by Lamiaceae with 6 species and then Acantharean and Verbenaceae with 5 species each. Other families have three or lesser species. In this study, the Use Values ranged between 0.10 and 0.02 and the most commonly used ethnomedicinal plant species were Persea americana Mill., Ageratum conyzoides L., Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, Physalis peruviana L., Psidium guajava L. The RFC values ranged from 0.85 to 0.03 and the highest RFC was recorded for Plectranthus sp.(0.85). There is a rich diversity of medicinal plants species that are used to manage diarrhea in the study area. The HM are collected from different habitats especially with the wild habitat being dominant. The most common method used for conservation and preservation of these medicinal plants was sustainable harvesting and the least common method was communal restriction