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Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants, ISSN 2249 – 4340 RESEARCH ARTICLE Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 240-244, December 2011 A Survey of anti-venomous, toxic and other plants used in some parts of Tivland, Nigeria J.O. IGOLI1*, S.N. TSENONGO2, T.A. TOR-ANYIIN2 1 Natural Products Research Group, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE Scotland 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria. *Corresponding Author, Tel: 01415482368, Fax: 01415522562 Article History: Received 13th September 2011, Revised 11th November 2011, Accepted 12th November 2011. Abstract: An ethnobotanical survey of anti-venomous, toxic and other plants used in some parts of Tiv speaking areas of Benue State, Nigeria is reported. Eleven plants used against snake bites, three plants used as poisons and seventeen other plants used in traditional medicine were identified. Thirty-one prescriptions are recorded and the results compared to previous ethnobotanical reports for the area. Documentation of this kind preserves traditional uses of plants. Considering the significance of applications of these plants, there is the need to screen them scientifically as to their efficacy and toxicity. Keywords: Ethnobotany; Anti-venom; Toxic; medicinal plants; Traditional medicine; Nigeria. Introduction Natural products from medicinal plants and other sources have remained the bedrock of drug discovery (Ganesan 2008; Newman and Cragg 2007; Butler 2004; Newman et al. 2000). Exploiting phytochemicals for drug discovery requires information on the usefulness or observed properties of local medicinal plants as documented by indigenous tribes or communities who use these plants for their basic or primary health care. Unfortunately most of the information is oral and with time the quality and quantity diminishes. Phytochemical research today may not seem to be as successful in terms of yield of new drugs as in the past; however it has some highly selling new drugs to its credit. It has also yielded new drug moieties and scaffolds on which drugs can be built. Bioassays have also continued to confirm the efficacy and activities of plant chemicals in all the modern or new assays developed. Natural products have continued to show potent activity in cell and enzyme assays (Baumann et al. 2002; Belenky et al. 2004). Although purification of plant extracts may lead to reduced activity, produce well known compounds or compounds whose structures are not easily determined, it is still the *Corresponding author: (E-mail) [email protected] ©2011 Open Access Science Research Publisher most reliable and rational drug discovery method available. Results of various screening tests have shown that there is still a lot to discover from medicinal plants (Harvey 2002; Rouhi 2003; Newman et al. 2003; Prasad et al. 2010). Similarly natural products have inspired many synthetic drug molecules or their analogues. Recent advances in isolation techniques, spectroscopic and chromatographic methods can be fully exploited in the discovery of new natural compounds or the identification of active components or compounds. Today high-through put screening methods using modern analytical instruments can detect and characterise samples in microgram or nanogram quantities (Hamid 2004). The Tiv people occupy most of the area around the river Benue in North Central Nigeria, lying between 6035’N – 8o15’N and 8o15’E – 10o00’E. They are the sixth largest homogenous and indigenous tribe in Nigeria (Tor-Anyiin et al., 2003). Their primary occupations are farming and hunting. The area has very fertile lands with rich vegetative flora. This natural setting has exposed the Tiv people to a vast area of natural flora which they have taken advantage of. Their experience and practice of traditional http://www.openaccessscience.com [email protected] Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants 241 Ethnobotanical survey of some parts of Tiv speaking areas of Nigeria medicine has thus accumulated over the years. This study is to tap into their vast knowledge of the use of medicinal plants in their locality with respect to anti-venom, toxic and other plants used significantly in their traditional medicine. Such studies are important because they succeed in documenting and preserving traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants for posterity and stimulate further studies/research in the scientific community. Figure 1: Map of Nigeria, Benue State, showing the study area. Materials and methods Medicinal plants reported in this study are those used by the Tiv traditional healers in the Ipav and Mbayion communities in Gboko LGA and Mbanor in Konshisha LGA (Figure 1). Information on the plants was gathered through oral interviews of the practitioners (30 in number), aged between 31 and 65 and with a minimum of five years experience. The plant materials were collected by accompanying practitioners and making collections of the identified plants used in the medicinal practice. The plants were identified (Hutchinson and Dalziel 1954) by faculty at the Forestry and wildlife Department of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, following collection. Voucher specimens were Igoli et al. deposited in the herbarium at the University. During the interviews, the local names of the plants, the part(s) used, the method of preparation and application/dosage and duration of treatment (where specific) were recorded. Information gathered was crosschecked with other practitioners in the locality. Plant use value which is a quantitative measure of the relative importance of species known locally, informant consensus factor (testing the homogeneity of knowledge of the practitioners) and fidelity levels (which determines the most preferred species used in treatment of a particular ailment) were calculated using the expressions prescribed by Musa et al. (2011). http://www.openaccessscience.com [email protected] 242 Ethnobotanical survey of some parts of Tiv speaking areas of Nigeria Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants Results Thirty-nine species of plants belonging to 23 families were identified as being used. Thirtyone prescriptions or recommendations were recorded for about 21 ailments or therapeutic indications including hypertension, stimulant, fish and arrow poisons. Table 1 summarizes these prescriptions, the plant(s) and part(s) being used and the mode of preparation/administration. Also included are the local names of the plants. The family Rubiaceae had the highest number of plants being used while fevers had the highest number of prescriptions. Table 2 gives the informant consensus factor and fidelity level for the plants and ailments. Table 1: Plant species identified and their use. Plant name Adenopus breviflorus Benth. Annona senegalensis Pers. Use Value Family Local name 0.17 Cucurbitaceae Ichegher-me 1.17 Annonaceae Ahur, Anyam hul Azadirachta indica A. Juss 0.67 Boerhaavia diffusa L. 0.17 Dogonyaro, Dogoyaro Nyctaginnaceae Gbilayongo Bridelia ferruginea Benth. Carica papaya Linn. Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle Cochlospermum planchonii Hook. F. Cymbopogon citratus Stapf. 1.50 1.50 1.00 Euphorbiaceae Ikpine Caricaceae Mbuer Rutaceae Alum u-angen 1.00 Datura stramonium L. Erythrophleum suaveolens (Guill & Perr) Brenan. Ficus sycomorus L. Ficus thonningii Blume. Imperata cylindrical (Anders.) Hubbard. Jatropha curcas L. Khaya senegalensis (Desu) A. Juss Burkea africana Hook. Lophira lanceolata Teigh. ex Keay. Mitracarpus villossus (Sw.) DC. 0.67 0.17 Cochlosperma- Kpavande ceae Poaceae Tohogile, Tohog- Typhoid fever waza Solanaceae Zakami Sedative Leguminosae Kor Arrow poison 0.17 0.33 0.67 Moraceae Moraceae Poaceae 0.33 0.67 0.17 0.67 Leaves Decoction Whole plant Leaves, stem Maceration Maceration Anti-diarrhoea Typhoid fever Yellow fever Leaves Leaves Leaves Cooked as food Decoction Decoction Euphorbiaceae Igyadam Meliaceae Haa Antiseptic Antidote Leaves, stem Leaves Maceration or juice Decoction Antidote Antimalarial Roots Leaves, stem Poultice or powder Maceration/decoction 0.50 Caesalpiniaceae Gbagbongom Ochnaceae Hokura Ikurainomso Rubiaceae Antyokpoghuloo Leaves Maceration or juice Moringa oleifera Lam. 0.33 Moringaceae Jeregede Leaves Maceration/decoction Musa sapientum L. Nauclea latifolia Sm. Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) R. Br. ex G. Don Piliostigma thonningii (Schum.) Milne-Redh. Scoparia dulcis L. 0.17 1.83 1.33 Musaceae Rubiaceae Fabaceae Ayaba Ikura ukase Nune Stalk Leaves Leaves Maceration Decoction Decoction 0.83 Leguminosae Nyihar Eczema/skin diseases Antidote and fever Antidote Fever Fever and dysentry Fever Leaves Decoction 0.33 Asange ichi Antidote Leaves Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) B.L. Burtt Stereospermum kunthianum Cham. Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC. 0.17 Scrophulariaceae Zingiberaceae Mondo ityange Hernia 1.17 Bignoniaceae Fever 0.17 Myrtaceae Antidote Leaves Poultice Tapinanthus dodoneifolius (DC.) Danser Terminalia avicennioides Guill. & Perr. Vitelleria paradoxa G. Don 0.33 Loranthaceae Uman atumba, Kpantembe Mho upupugh, Daa nyam Noonnoon Leaves, roots/rhizomes Leaves, roots Poultice, maceration or juice Decoction Leaves, stem Decoction/maceration 0.50 Combretaceae Kuegh Stem Maceration 0.17 Sapotaceae Ichamegh Withania somnifera (L) Dunal. 0.33 Solanaceae Akur abeagh, Abemaki Antidote and Fever Male erectile dysfunction Antiinflammatory Antidote and Hallucinogen Igoli et al. 1.00 Meliaceae Ailment or Use Part used Preparation Arrow poison Leaves Juice Antidote Leaves and stalk Maceration, juice or decoction Antidote Leaves, stem and Decoction/ maceration roots AntiLeaves, stem and Decoction or juice inflammatory roots Yellow fever Leaves Decoction/maceration Anti-diarrhoea Seeds Swallowing Antidote Leaves Decoction, maceration or juice Yellow fever Leaves and roots Decoction Tur, Hirkar Akinde Ihira Decoction Leaves, stem and Maceration or powder bark Leaves, stem Maceration or juice http://www.openaccessscience.com [email protected] 243 Ethnobotanical survey of some parts of Tiv speaking areas of Nigeria Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants Table 2: Significant informant consenus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) of ethnobotanical information given by the 30 practitioners. Symptom and ailment category Poison Parasitic infection ICF Preferred species 0.20 B. ferruginea 0.20 A. senegalensis A.indica C. papaya C. citratus K. senegalensis L .lanceolata N. latifolia P. biglobosa S. kunthianum Reproductive system 0.63 C. planchonii Fever 0.33 C. papaya C. aurantifolia C. citratus N. latifolia Skin infections 0.44 L. lanceolata M. villossus N. latifolia S. kunthianum Fever 0.33 B. ferruginea I.cylindrica Application FL (%) Arrow poison 66.6 Malaria fever 33.3 50.0 66.6 33.3 33.3 66.6 100 50.0 66.6 Infertility 50.0 Typhoid fever 33.3 33.3 33.3 33.3 Dermatitis 33.3 33.3 33.3 33.3 Yellow fever 33.3 33.3 Discussion This study and previous ones (Tor-Anyiin et al. 2003; Igoli et al. 2002) indicates that traditional medicine is widely acceptable within the Tiv society. The general route of administration in most cases is per oral and in some cases dosages and duration of treatment are prescribed. Modern activity screening at the cell and enzyme levels have continued to confirm the activity of medicinal plant extracts including those previously studied. While some known and sometimes novel compounds have been identified from these plant extracts, others may just have been reported as actives. This does not in any way diminish their value as inputs into drug development or direct use in traditional medicine. This rather makes room for further phytochemical studies and research. Recent studies have continued to show the benefits of ethnobotanical surveys (Rajakumar and Shivanna 2009; Lamorde et al. 2010) in drug research and development. Though some of these plants may have been reported earlier (Tor-Anyiin et al. 2003; Igoli et al. 2002), the ones reported here are mainly those used as anti-venoms and for their toxic properties or properties that could be abused. Igoli et al. These plants which are certainly potent could be studied with the aim of developing new drugs from their products. The plant with the highest fidelity level (100) and use value (1.83) is Nauclea latifolia while most of the other plants had low use value and fidelity levels. The high number of prescriptions and plants used for fevers shows that this is the most common ailment and one whose treatment is highly sought. It may therefore be worthwhile to search for new antimalarial drugs from the plants used. References Baumann, B., Bohnenstengel, F., Siegmund, D., Wajant, H., Weber, C., Herr, I., Debatin, K., Proksch, P., Wirth, T. 2002. Rocaglamide derivatives are potent inhibitors of NF-κB activation in T-cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(47): 44791– 44800. Belenky, A., Hughes, D., Korneev, A., Dunayevskiy, Y. 2004. Capillary electrophoretic approach to screen for enzyme inhibitors in natural extracts. Journal of Chromatography A, 1053(1-2): 247-251. Butler, M.S. 2004. The Role of Natural Product Chemistry in Drug Discovery. Journal of Natural Products, 67: 2141-2153. Ganesan, A. 2008. The impact of natural products upon modern drug discovery. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 12(3): 306317. Hamid, R., Rotshteyn, Y., Rabadi, L., Parikh, R., Bullock, P. 2004. Comparison of alamar blue and MTT assays for high through-put screening. Toxicology in Vitro, 18: 703– 710. Harvey, A.L. 2002. Natural products for highthroughput screening. Advanced Phytomedicine, 1: 39-44. Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. 1954. Flora of West Tropical Africa, Crown Agents, pp. 295. Igoli, J.O., Tor-Anyiin, T.A., Usman, S.S., Oluma, H.O.A., Igoli., N.P. 2002. Folk medicines of the lower Benue valley of Nigehttp://www.openaccessscience.com [email protected] Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants 244 Ethnobotanical survey of some parts of Tiv speaking areas of Nigeria ria. In: Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants, Vol.7 Ethnomedicine and Pharmacognosy II, (Eds. V.K Singh, J.N. Govil, S. Hashmi and G. Singh), Sci. Tech. Pub., USA. pp. 327-338. Lamorde, M., Tabuti, J.R.S., Obua, C., Kukunda-Byobona, C., Lanyero, H., ByakikaKibwika, P., Bbosa, G.S., Lubega, A., Ogwai-Okeng, J., Ryan, M., Waako, P.J., Merry, C. 2010. Medicinal plants used by traditional medicine practitioners for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and related conditions in Uganda. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 130: 43-53. Musa S. M, Abdelrasool F.E, Elsheikh E.A, Ahmed L.A.M.N, Mahmoud A.L.E and Yagi S.M. 2011. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in the Blue Nile State, South-eastern Sudan Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5(17), 4287-4297 Newman, D.J., Cragg, G.M. 2007. Natural Products as Sources of New Drugs over the Last 25 Years. Journal of Natural Products, 70: 461-477. Newman, D.J., Gordon, M., Cragg, G.M., Kenneth, M., Snader, K.M. 2000. The influence of natural products upon drug discovery. Natural Product Reports, 17: 215–234. Newman, D.J, Cragg, G.M., Snader, K.M. 2003. Natural products as sources of new Drugs over the period 1981-2002. Journal of Natural Products, 66: 1022-1037. Prasad, S., Phromnoi, K., Yadav, V.R., Chaturvedi, M.M., Aggarwal, B.B. 2010. Targeting inflammatory pathways by flavonoids for prevention and treatment of cancer. Planta Medica, 76 (11): 1044-1063. Rajakumar, N., Shivanna, M.B. 2009. Ethnomedicinal application of plants in the eastern region of Shimoga district, Karnataka, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 126: 64-73. Rouhi, A.M. 2003. Rediscovering natural products, Chemical and Engineering news, 81(4) pp 77-78, 82-83, 86, 88-91. Tor-Anyiin, T.A, Sha’ato, R., Oluma, H.O.A. 2003. Ethnobotanical survey of antimalarial medicinal plants amongst the Tiv people of Nigeria. Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants, 10(3): 61-74. Appendix 1: Survey Form UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, MAKURDI DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, SURVEY OF ANTI VENOMOUS AND TOXIC MEDICINAL PLANTS IN TIVLAND Please assist by providing the information required in the questionnaire below: The information provided will be treated with strict confidence. 1. Local name of the plant:____________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. Which part is used for medicinal purpose? _______________________________ _______________________________________ 3. Method of preparation: is it used as powder or extracted; cold water or hot water:________________________________________ 4. Dose and regimen (a) Adult ____________________________________________ (b) Children ___________________________ 5. Can the plant be used with another plant? _______________________________________________________________________ 6. Does time of collecting the plant or usage matter? ________________________________________________________________ 7. Can the plant be prepared in another way? _______________________________________________________________________ 8. What is the habitat of the plant: tree, shrub, herb land, aquatint? _____________________________________________________ 9. Give location where collection was made:_______________________ ________________________________________________ 10. Any flowers and colour?_____________________________________ _______________________________________________ 11. Fruit description:_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ 12. Latex produced? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________ 13. Location:_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Name and address of the person providing information: An Elder, Herbalist; state clearly:_________________________________ 15. Name and address of the botanist who identified the plant:__________________________________________________________ 16. Name and address of the taxonomist who confirmed the identity of the plant:___________________________________________ Igoli et al. http://www.openaccessscience.com [email protected]