Abstract
Background
Ethnic groups have developed their own cultures expressed in the form of traditional health care systems. This study aimed to determine how three sympatric communities with different histories, perceive and manage malaria, a disease with a high prevalence rate in the region.
Methods
An ethnobotanical survey was carried out in 10 villages of Agni, Akyé and Gwa communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 290 informants within all three communities. A correspondence analysis associated to hierarchical clusters was used to determine the form of malaria shared within informants. Then, the free listing technique was performed to indicate the plant species which was most important for the respondents. Besides, the Venn diagram coupled to Jaccard similarity index was used to report the homogeneity on antimalarial plants species used within the three studied communities. Moreover, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the most common antimalarial plant within communities. Finally, the fidelity level index was used to identify the most preferred plant species used to cure various forms of malaria.
Results
The three ethnic groups have overall a similar perception of malaria with various symptoms. However, they did not use the same plants to cure one form of this disease. The study recorded 77 medicinal plants used to cure malaria, in which, a few such as Annickia polycarpa, Gymnanthemum amygdalinum, Alstonia boonei, Nauclea latifolia, Harungana madagascariensis, Ocimum gratissimum and Senna occidentalis were the most important. The analysis of intracultural knowledge on antimalarial plants revealed that informants have shared a high knowledge. Meanwhile, there is an intercultural convergence about common plants used within communities. Therefore, 20 antimalarial plant species were shared within communities and actively used, through time. Finally, in terms of antimalarial plants knowledge, Akyé and Gwa communities were closer than Agni communities.
Conclusions
In spite of their different histories, the close contact of communities promote the sharing of the knowledge. People use the same important plants to cure malaria and know five forms of malaria. Knowledge on antimalarial plants does not reach a stable climax, but could be evolved by trial and error, as effective cures malaria.
Telemedicine and Computer-Based Technologies during Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection; A Chance to Educate and Diagnose
