Traditional antimalarial phytotherapy remedies in herbal markets in southern Ghana
Introduction
Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito which acts as a host and a vector of the parasite. Symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, general body pains and gastrointestinal upset (Smyth, 1994). Malaria is arguably the most important disease in the world with an estimated 350–500 million clinical cases each year with a corresponding mortality rate of 2–3 million deaths each year (WHO, 2005). In Africa where malaria is endemic, access to conventional drug treatments is reduced in rural areas and cultural practices still remain important (WHO, 2008). Consequently, 80% of the population use traditional medicine for treating malaria (Phillipson, 1994, Marsh et al., 1995, Geoffrey and Kirby, 1996, WHO, 2008).
Many species of plant have been traditionally used for the treatment of malaria (Srisilam and Versham, 2003). Indigenous plants still play an important role in the treatment of a variety of diseases including malaria in Africa (Sofoworo, 1980, Phillipson, 1995, Omulokoli et al., 1997). In Ghana, there are many publications of studies on antimalarial uses of plants by communities (Irvine, 1961, Ampofo, 1983, Ayitey-Smith, 1989, Abbiw, 1990, ITC, 1990, PORSPI, 1992, Dokosi, 1998, Mshana et al., 2001, Asase et al., 2005). Herbal markets are important component of the health care system in Ghana (Falconer, 1992). To the best of our knowledge, however, there is no publication of studies on traditional antimalarial plant remedies available in herbal markets in Ghana. This information is needed for the development of strategies for the effective control of malaria in Ghana.
The objectives of the present study were to: (1) determine the socioeconomic status of herborists selling herbal remedies for the treatment of malaria in southern Ghana; (2) identify the species of plants being sold; (3) determine the condition of plant materials (i.e., dried or fresh state), modes of preparation and administration of the herbal remedies; and (4) determine the availability and cost of treatment of malaria using the herbal remedies.
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Study sites
Ghana is a country with a land area of 239,460 km2. It is located on latitude 8° North and longitude 2° West and shares boundary with Cote D’iviore in the west, Togo in the east and Burkina Faso in the north and the Atlantic Ocean in the south. Administratively, Ghana is divided into ten political regions. The population of Ghana is estimated as 23,832,848 with an annual growth rate of 2.17%. About 70% of the estimated number of people lives in southern Ghana (Ghana Statistical Service, 2005).
Socioeconomic characteristics of herborists
Of the 71 herborists interviewed 95.8% were female, while only three were males. The major occupation of the herborists was selling herbal remedies while a few of them (15.7%) traded other products, such as spices and vegetables. About 69% of the herborists sold their plant materials in permanent stalls while 30.9% of them were ambulatory/hawkers. The herborists belonged to eleven Ghanaian ethnic groups: namely, Akuapem (5.6%), Akyem (9.9%), Asante (22.5%), Assin (23.9%), Brong (1.4%), Ewe
Discussion
The present study showed that selling of herbal remedies for the treatment of malaria in southern Ghana is predominantly a female occupation. This is contrary to the results obtained from a recent study in Burkina Faso (Sanon et al., 2002) and Mali (Togola et al., 2005), which reported that more males engaged in this activity than females. In Ghana, retail trading is largely a female dominated occupation and this could explain why 96% of the herborists were females. Factors such as age-group,
Acknowledgments
We are most grateful to the herborists in the study sites for their hospitality during the fieldwork and permission to publish the data. The authors would also like to thank Professors Andreas Hensel and Monique S. J. Simmonds for constructive comments on an earlier version of this paper. Thanks to the International Foundation for Science (IFS) for partial financial support.
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