ETHNODIAGNOSTIC SKILLS OF THE DIGO
COMMUNITY FOR MALARIA: A LEAD TO TRADITIONAL BIOPROSPECTING?
Joseph M Nguta, Natural Product programme, PHPT
UNIVERSITY OF
NAIROBI
General overview
Azadirachta indica form part of the vegetation
Author conducting an interview in Mwaroni village, Diani
General overview
Palm trees form part of the vegetation
IntroductionDigo community is the most populous group
in Msambweni district of Coast Province and is mainly concentrated in Diani location
Malaria is endemic in Msambweni district and prevalent in many other communities in Kenya
The Digo community has abundant traditional knowledge on malaria recognition, control and treatment
Introd.(Cont.)This study documents ethnophytotherapeutic
remedies, ethnodiagnostic skills and related traditional knowledge utilized by the Digo community of the Kenyan Coast to diagnose malaria as a lead to traditional bioprospecting.
MethodsStudy site
Methods(Cont.)This study was carried out in three Digo
villages of Diani sub-location between May 2009 and December 2009
Data was obtained through the use of semi-structured questionnaires, field observations and Participatory Rural Appraisal tools
Methods (Cont.)A total of 60 Digo respondents (34 men and
26 women) provided information on ethnophytotherapeutic remedies, ethnodiagnostic skills and related traditional knowledge utilized by the Digo community of the Kenyan Coast to diagnose malaria as a lead to traditional bioprospecting.
ResultsThe results show that the Digo community
relies not only on symptoms of malaria but also on factors responsible for causing malaria, attributes favoring the breeding of mosquitoes and practices employed to guard against mosquito bites or to protect households against malaria to diagnose the disease
Results(Cont.)• The Digo community uses 50 medicinal plants
to treat malaria that is positively diagnosed.• The most frequently mentioned symptoms
were fever, joint pains and vomiting while the most frequently mentioned practices employed to guard against mosquito bites and/or to protect households against malaria was burning of herbal plants such as Ocimum suave and ingestion of herbal decoctions and concoctions
Conclusions• Malaria is a major obstacle to social-economic
development amongst the Digo community.• The Digo community has abundant
ethnodiagnostic skills for malaria which forms the basis of their traditional bioprospecting techniques
• They also have abundant traditional knowledge about malaria causes and ethnophytotherapeutic remedies
Conclusions (Cont.)The results of this study become a basis for
selection of plants for further pharmacological, toxicological and phytochemical studies in developing new and locally relevant antimalarial drugs.
Author conducting interview
Thickets near homesteads
Acknowledgements The Carnegie Corporation of New York for
financially supporting this work through Regional Initiative in Science and Technology (Carnegie-AIS-RISE) Natural Product Network
The community of Msambweni district, for sharing their knowledge and time with the author
The Natural Product Research Team for their positive criticism and constant encouragement
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING/AHSANTENI SANA
KAYA DIANI FOREST