Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in modern society and it is evident that its incidence
and severity are increasing, however very little is known about the plants used in the management of the disease. This
study therefore aimed to document the plants usage in the Togolese traditional medicine to treat asthma.
Methodology: From January to June 2015, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted using a semi-structured
questionnaire with traditional healers (THs) in the southern region of Togo. The importance of the plants species was
assessed by the calculated use values.
Results: In Total, 121 THs (92 males and 29 females) were interviewed and 98 plants species belonging to 54 families
were identified as curing asthma. The most represented families were: Leguminosae with 7 species followed by
Euphorbiaceae and Rutaceae contributing with 6 and 5 species respectively. Based on the calculated use values the
most important species were
Carcica papaya
L.,
Cataranthus roseus
L.,
Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Dehnh.,
Piper guineense
Thonn.,
Eucalyptus citriodora
Hook.,
Eucalyptus globules
Labill. and
Euphorbia hirta
L. The leaves and the
root were the parts predominantly used to prepare the formulations, mainly decoctions, administrated by oral route.
Clinical manifestations such as wheezing (91.74%), difficulty as speaking or coughing (73.55%), dyspnea (66.94%),
dry cough (52.89%), sweating and increased heart rate (52.07%) were used by TH to diagnose the disease.
Conclusion: This study showed initial evidence of the use of plant materials by Togolese TH to heal asthma. These
results could be a starting point for laboratory screenings.
