Conservation status and use of medicinal plants by traditional medical practitioners in Machakos District, Kenya

Abstract

From time immemorial, plants have been an indispensable source of both preventive and curative medicinal preparations for human beings. More than 90% of the Kenyan population use medicinal plants at one time or another as their primary source of healthcare. In the rural areas and among the urban poor, herbal medicine is in most cases the only form of health care, and sick persons only consult regular physicians as a last resort. During the study, 74 Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) were interviewed; 141 plant species in 124 genera and 44 families were found to be used at one time or another in treatment of various diseases. Consensus as a quantitative criterion was used in recording field information. Descriptive statistics was used in data analysis. Population reduction (PR) criterion was used to determine priority species in need of urgent conservation. Based on this, fourteen plant species were found to have become rare due to over exploitation.