title: Ethnobotanical survey on medicinal plants used by Guinean traditional healers in the treatment of malaria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of the present study was to collect and document information on herbal remedies traditionally used for the treatment of malaria in Guinea.
  
  
  METHODS
  The survey was carried out from May 2008 to September 2010 and targeted traditional medical practitioners and herbalists. The questionnaire and oral interviews were based on the standardized model which was prepared by the "Centre de Recherche et de Valorisation des Plantes Médicinales (CRVPM) - Dubréka".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A total of 258 people (141 males and 117 females) from which 150 traditional healers and 108 herbalists were interviewed. The age of informants ranged from 28 to 82 years old. 57% (149/258) of the interviewees were more than 50 years old. The respondents had good knowledge of the symptoms of malaria, and a fairly good understanding of the causes. One hundred thirteen plant species were recorded, out of which 109 were identified. They belonged to 84 genera and 46 families. The most frequently cited plants were Vismia guineensis, Parkia biglobosa, Nauclea latifolia, Harungana madagascariensis, Terminalia macroptera, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Terminalia albida, Annona senegalensis, and Nauclea pobeguinii. The leaves were most frequently used (80/113 species), followed by stem bark (38/113 species) and roots (4/113 species). The remedies were mostly prepared by decoction (111 species), followed by maceration (seven species). Only one species was prepared by infusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study showed that traditional healers in Guinea have a consistent knowledge of antimalarial plants. Further research should be carried out to compare the anti-malarial activity of the different species, and to check if their use against malaria can be scientiﬁcally validated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University Gamal Abdel Nasser of Conakry, Guinea; Research and Valorization Center on Medicinal Plants, Dubréka, Guinea.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baldé
authors.forename: M S T
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Baldé
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diané
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camara
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keïta
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Keita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oularé
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Magassouba
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Diakité
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pieters
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Baldé
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019448:Ethnobotany; D005260:Female; D016701:Guinea; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials
keywords: Ethnobotanical survey; Guinea; Malaria