Homestead horticultural crops: Alternative sources to alternative medicines/therapies in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria

The prehistoric discovery that certain plants harm and others have curative powers is the origin of the healing professions and its practitioners as well as professions devoted to plants (botany and horticulture). The description of plants and their properties and virtues (termed herbals) became invaluable resources for the physician and apothecary. The horticultural plants with medicinal values used in the traditional medicine of Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria were surveyed, aimed at identifying and documenting the plants used amongst the indigenes of Ebonyi State. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during a field trip to gather information from traditional medicinal practitioners (TMPs) and community elders. Results obtained indicated that horticultural plants species with medicinal values were 44 species representing 32 genera and 30 families; used in the ethno medicine of the people of Ebonyi State. The most represented genera were Cucurbitaceae and Rutaceae providing five and four species, respectively. The most used plant parts recorded was the leaves representing (52.27%), followed by fruits (27.27%), and while decoction was the main method of drug preparation with (38.67%) followed by infusion (21.33%). The result of the survey shows that more than half of the horticultural plants with medicinal values gathered in Ebonyi State are also used in other states in Nigeria as well as in other countries for various ailments. The most frequently treated diseases represents 67.09% of the medicinal applications and the most treated diseases was Fungal /Bacterial diseases with 27.45% followed by Malaria/Fever and other related diseases with (22.55%). These medicinal plants gathered may bring about drug discovery and may also be incorporated into the healthcare delivery system of the country.