title: A survey of toxic plants on the market in the district of Bamako, Mali: traditional knowledge compared with a literature search of modern pharmacology and toxicology.
abstract: In Mali, the empirical knowledge on plant medicine is held by traditional practioners. Scientific studies have been carried on some plants and they have confirmed their local uses, but few data are available on the toxicity of Malian medicinal plants. In the present work, we record the toxic plants used as medicines in the Bamako district, Mali, with the aim to evaluate the knowledge of traditional healers and herbalists on the toxicity of the plant used. A survey was carried out on the market places in the Bamako district and 106 healers and herbalists were interviewed. A survey of the scientific literature was conducted to verify or sustain the claimed toxicological data. Nineteen plants are arranged according to their frequency of quotation based on the questionnaire. The information includes the botanical name, literature survey on the pharmacology of the plants, the healers' knowledge on plant toxicity and its prevention by some of the healers.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, PO Box 1068 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ababacar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maiga
authors.forename: Drissa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: Seydou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fane
authors.forename: Rokia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanogo
authors.forename: Berit Smestad
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cisse
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D029001:Herbal Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D019359:Knowledge; D008302:Mali; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000633:toxicity; D010939:Plant Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000633:toxicity*; D012014:Reference Books, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts