Utilization of Plants for Medicinal Purposes and Concerns with  Endangered Plant Species from Ghana

Alfred Ofori Agyemang; Bernard Kofi Turkson; Michael Frimpong Baidoo; Isaac Kingsley Amponsah; Merlin Lincoln  Kwao Mensah; Emmanuel Orman; Marcel Tunkumgnen Bayor

doi:10.18502/tim.v6i1.5926

Alfred Ofori Agyemang Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
Bernard Kofi Turkson Department of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah of University and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Michael Frimpong Baidoo Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
Isaac Kingsley Amponsah Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah of University and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Merlin Lincoln Kwao Mensah Department of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah of University and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Emmanuel Orman Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
Marcel Tunkumgnen Bayor Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/tim.v6i1.5926

Keywords: Phytotherapy; Ethnobotany; Bio-conservation; Polyherbal; Biodiversity

Abstract

There has always been a strong human dependency on plants for health purposes and such an important relationship should be sustained. Plants remain a repository of drug leads for discovering new pharmaceutical agents for prevention, treatment and improving the quality of health for many people globally. In the effort to improve healthcare services, Ghana put up the Recommended Essential Herbal Medicine List (REHML) consisting of products that are used in the treatment of both Communicable and non-Communicable diseases. To inspire confidence among prescribers and clients of the products it has become necessary to validate the plants and their products. The aim of the study was to identify the medicinal plants' species in the herbal products in Ghana’s REHML commonly used for treatment, the conditions being treated with them and finding published research for the plants therapeutic use. Medicinal plants on the REHML with chances of getting extinct were also assessed. The REHML of Ghana and the Ghana Herbal Pharmacopoeia were reviewed for the required information. Electronic databases; PubMed and Scopus, as well as online search engines, Google Scholar and Google were used to obtain information on the identified medicinal plants and their families. A total of 167 medicinal plant species were found to be used in 180 products as compiled in the Ghana REHML and these belonged to 63 botanical families. Most of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild making sustainability and bio-conservation a challenge. Decoctions, creams and ointments are the commonest dosage forms. The REHML of Ghana caters for 13 disease areas using 180 finished herbal products. These products are made from 167 medicinal plants, 16 of which are in the group of medicinal plants classified as endangered species. There should be a conscious effort to bio-conserve these endangered medicinal plant species so that there can be continuous supply for use in the preparation of herbal products for healthcare purposes.