J Ethnopharmacol. 2002 Jan; 79(1): 109-12.

Some herbal remedies from Manzini region of Swaziland.

Amusan OO, Dlamini PS, Msonthi JD, Makhubu LP.

Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Medicinal and Indigenous Food Plants, University of Swaziland, Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni, Swaziland. amusan@uniswacc.uniswa.sz

In this paper, recipes for 41 herbal remedies used for treating 25 illnesses in traditional medicine in Swaziland are reported. Preparation of the herbal remedies involved the use of different parts of 47 species from 32 families, some of which have never been described previously in the flora of Swaziland. Descriptions of the plants used, the preparation of each remedy, dosage, route of administration and medical uses are reported. Some of the diseases the remedies are used to treat include asthma, backache, candidiasis, cardiac problems, cough, diarrhoea, dizziness, eye problems, constipation, menorrhagia, painful shoulders, scabies, threatened abortion, toothache, ulcers and vomiting among others. The remedies were obtained from traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) in an ethnomedical survey carried out in the Manzini region of Swaziland. Voucher samples of the plants used for the remedies were collected, identified and deposited in the National Herbarium of Swaziland.