Indigenous Knowledge and Use of Medicinal Plants Among the Kuria Communities in the Tarime and Serengeti Districts of Mara Region, Tanzania
Mary Zacharia Charwi, Neema Gideon Mogha, Joseph Koni Muluwa, Koen Bostoen
Abstract
This study documented indigenous knowledge and use of medicinal plants among the Kuria communities in Mara Region, Tanzania. Ethnobotanical data were collected in collaboration with 20 traditional healers (THs), by jungle-walk-and-identify, field guides and observation, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and scientific identification of plants. Kuria medicinal plant healers reported 100 medicinal plants from 34 families. Asteraceae (15%) prevailed, followed by Fabaceae (13%) and Lamiaceae (12%). Herbs constituted the largest fraction (41%), followed by shrubs (27%), trees (24%), grasses (4%), climbers (4%), and ferns (1%). Leaves were the most used plant part. Healers listed about 53 diseases treated with plants.