The current study focussed on documenting the ethnobotanical knowledge of herbal medicines used by the Bapedi
traditional healers to treat reproductive ailments in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Fifty one healers from 17
municipalities covering Capricorn, Sekhukhune and Waterberg districts of the Limpopo Province were interviewed between
January and July 2011. Semi-structured interviews, observations and guided field surveys with the healers were employed.
Thirty-six medicinal plant species belonging to 35 genera and 20 families were documented. The most used species were
Zanthoxylum humile
(25.5%),
Catha edulis
(21.6%),
Ozoroa sphaerocarpa
(15.7%),
Hypoxis hemerocallidea
(13.7%),
Hypoxis obtusa
(11.7%),
Gomphocarpus fruticosus
subsp.
fruticosus and
Gymnosporia senegalensis
(9.8% each). The
dominant growth forms among the reported medicinal plants were herbs (39%), followed by shrubs and trees with 33% and
28%, respectively. The preferred plant parts were roots (63.9%), followed by bark (13.9%), whole plant (11.1%), tubers
(8.3%), bulbs (5.6%), fruits, leaves, stems and twigs (2.8% each). The majority of the species were used to treat gender
specific reproductive ailments; while a minority were used for treating reproductive ailments of both genders. Twenty-two
species (61.1%) are supported by reports of similar uses in other countries or have proven biological activity. This study
illustrates that Bapedi traditional healers possess remarkable knowledge on medicinal plants used for treating and managing
reproductive ailments.
