Medicinal plants used to manage diabetes mellitus in Buwama Sub-county, Mpigi District

Abstract

Globally, there is increase in the number of people suffering from Diabetes and this has led to the need for development of other alternative treatment means which are cheaper. Indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants is also being lost due to the lack of documentation. The aim of the study was to document plant species used in the treatment of Diabetes and to identify their conservation strategies. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the villages of Buyijja, Katebo, Bumera, Kabagambi and Nabiteete to document the medicinal plants used in the treatment of Diabetes. A total of 46 traditional healers were identified using snow ball sampling method. Data was collected using semi structured interviews, because this data collection tool can be used to acquire be specific and elaborate information. A total of 51 plant species were documented, and sample specimens taken to Makerere University Herbarium for botanical identification. According to the results, a lot of information about medicinal plant use is still undocumented, and at the verge of extinction with the death of the people who hold this important knowledge. The plants documented belonged to 32 families and 47 genera, with Fabaceae registering the highest number of species (8). Most of plant species were harvested from the wild, although some were cultivated in healers’ home gardens. In conclusion, there is a lot of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plant use that has not been documented. Therefore, more studies should be carried out, not only for Diabetes, but also other diseases.