ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PROPAGATION OF SOME ENDANGERED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NANDI SOUTH DISTRICT

1. ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PROPAGATION OF SOME ENDANGERED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NANDI SOUTH DISTRICT Jeruto Pascaline *, Mutai Charles^ and Ouma George*^ *Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), P.O Box 249 Kitale, Kenya; ^Center for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya; *^Department of Botany and Horticulture,Maseno University, P.O. Box 333, Maseno, Kenya

2. BACKGROUND • Plants useful - food, shelter, clothing, fuel, medicine, crafts, cosmetics, income & employment (Balick,1996;Karori, 2003; Olembo,1995;Kokwaro,1976 &1993). • Herbal products- spices, tisane, medicinal raw materials, aromatics plants, functional food ingredients, essential oils, flavourings, fragrance products, dietary supplements and ecological balance (Kokwaro, 1976; UNEP, 1993). • Herbal products recognized- scientific knowledge (Rukangira,2001). • 80-90% Africa population(WHO,1979;Karori,2003). • Increased demand both locally and internationally - High population, poverty (rural and urban), increased awareness, high cost of modern medicine, limited access to trained doctors, food scarcity (dry and famine seasons).

3. Introduction… SOUTH NANDI DISTRICT. • high human population • High demand for herbal products • Over harvesting- reduces the inventory / diversity • Deforestation (Biketi, 1989 and 2000).

4. Objectives • To document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in South Nandi district. • To identify propagation methods for the endangered medicinal plants.

5. RESULTS • 152 medicinal plants identified belonging to 57 families. • Diseases frequently treated- respiratory (24%), gastrointestinal (22%), skin ailments (18%), other infections (16%). • Habit of mostly used herbal plants are herbs & shrubs (69%) tree (20%) and liana (11%). • Plant parts frequently used – roots 38% and leaves (32%) • Majority of the practitioners are women (60%).

6. Plant parts utilized in herbal medicines

7. Discussion • Compositae and Labiatae were the most commonly used medicinal plants –they are also the most diverse plant families. • Low no. of trees & lianas is due to high deforestation and overgrazing hence high no. of shrubs and herbs. • The predominant usage of roots in drug preparation (25%) is detrimental to the plants and may lead to loss of wild resources. • Record of new medicinal uses for Datura stramonium to treatmadness, Ehretia cymosia & Conyza subscaposa shows that such surveys add value to science. • Drug preparation by concoction & decoction were most frequently used- best in extracting the active compounds. • Some compounds were active in vitro, suggesting they mayexhibit activity in vivo.

8. Discussion… • Auxins promote rooting systems of 3 medicinal plants • 3 species have different ranges of effective auxin concentration. • M2 & M3 have broader ranges than M1 (0-200ppm)

9. Conclusions • 152 medicinal species were identified. New medicinal uses reinforces importance of such surveys. • Plants reported in ethno studies should be tested broadly as this may bring new data from bioassays that were not registered in traditional folklore. • Plants conservation strategies should involve their propagation on farm e.g. these studies show that it is possible to root stem cuttings of Toddalia asiatica, Carissa edulis & Asystasia schimperi using auxins. Stem cutting was the technique best suited for propagation of Asystasia. • Non-mist polypropagator –used for propagation; promotes good rooting /constructed from available & cheap materials

10. Acknowledgment • People of Nandi for sharing the indigenous knowledge. • Co-authors for teamwork in writing the paper. • Staff – NMK, UoN, Maseno University.

11. THANK YOU