An ethnobotanical survey of plants used in management of Gastro-Intestinal ulcer in Namutumba Sub-County, Namutumba District, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

Despite the amount of literature on ethnopharmacological studies in Uganda, there seems to be no published works on the antiulcer plants used among the people of Namutumba sub county, Eastern Uganda. This study was aimed at presenting results of ethnopharmacological survey of the plants used in the treatment of gastric ulcer in Namutumba subcounty, Namutumba district, Eastern Uganda. The way these plants are administered and conserved. Materials and Methods: Fifty respondents, including the old, those who grow and sell herbs and the herb hawkers were interacted with using semi-structured questionnaires. The interviewees were 21 males and 29females and their ages ranged from 28-70 years Results: In total, 18 plant species from 50 respondents were identified. Famous among these plant families were Compositae, Euphorbiaceae and Leguminosae having 5 and 4 species, respectively. The most used plant species for the treatment of peptic ulcer were: Carica papaya (Caricaceae), Aloe vera, Musa paradisiaca L(Musaceae) and Eucalyptus globullus. Infusion, decoction and concoction were ways of preparing these mixtures, which were to be taken orally, at least 3 times every day for a specified period. Conclusion: Herbalists have used the plants in this survey several times to treat their peptic ulcer patients and according to them were very effective.