title: Medicinal plants and finished marketed herbal products used in the treatment of malaria in the Ashanti region, Ghana.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ethnobotanical survey was performed to document medicinal plants employed in the management of malaria in the Bosomtwe and Sekyere East Districts of the Ashanti Region (Ghana), in comparison with the plant ingredients in herbal antimalarial remedies registered by the Ghana Food and Drug Administration.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and three (203) herbalists from 33 communities within the two districts were interviewed on medicinal plants they use to manage malaria. A literature search was made to determine already documented plants. In addition, 23 finished marketed herbal products indicated for the management of malaria were identified and their labels examined to find out which of the plants mentioned in our survey were listed as ingredients and whether these products are in anyway regulated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-eight (98) species of plants were cited for the management of malaria. In comparison with literature citations, 12 (12.2%) species were reported for the management of malaria for the first time and 20 (20.4%) others for the first time in Ghana. Twenty-three (23) finished marketed herbal antimalarial products examined contained aerial or underground parts of 29 of the plants cited in our survey as ingredients. Twenty-two (22) of these products have been registered by the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority, four (4) of which were included in the recommended herbal medicine list for treating malaria in Ghana.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides new additions to the inventory of medicinal plants used for the management of malaria and reports the commercial availability and regulation of finished marketed labelled herbal products intended for the treatment of malaria in Ghana.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Chimiothérapie Antiparasitaire, CNRS UMR 8076 BioCIS, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Paris-Sud, France; Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, CNRS UMR 8076 BioCIS, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Paris-Sud, France. Electronic address: gustkomla@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Gustav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Komlaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: chrisagyare@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Agyare
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: radickson.pharm@knust.edu.gh.
authors.forename: Rita Akosua
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.affiliation: Department of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: mlkmensah.pharm@knust.ed.gh.
authors.forename: Merlin Lincoln Kwao
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mensah
authors.affiliation: Department of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: annankofi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Kofi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Annan
authors.affiliation: Chimiothérapie Antiparasitaire, CNRS UMR 8076 BioCIS, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Paris-Sud, France. Electronic address: philippe.loiseau@u-psud.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Loiseau
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, CNRS UMR 8076 BioCIS, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Paris-Sud, France. Electronic address: pierre.champy@u-psud.fr.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Champy
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019448:Ethnobotany; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D028321:Plant Preparations
keywords: Antimalarial; Finished marketed herbal products; Malaria; Medicinal plants; Treatment