Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in the Maasai food system and traditional medicine against gout and associated conditions in Monduli-Tanzania

ABSTRACT

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to determine the plant species used against gout and gout-associated conditions (GACs) in Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania. The survey that involved 21 Maasai traditional food system (TFS) and traditional medicine (TM) practitioners revealed that the study area had 101 plant species distributed in 84 genera and 42 families. About 79% of the species were used as medicine; some were used as food or for processing. The medicinal plants (MPs) managed 69 health conditions including gout, “Olgila” and GACs. The MPs had potential nutritional and antioxidant agents against diseases including metabolic diseases (MDs), like gout. The root parts of the plants (54% species) were exploited the most; most plants (94%) were sourced from the wild. Integrated conservation and promotion measures are needed to prevent loss of TFS and TM knowledge.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnobotany
• food system
• metabolic diseases

Acknowledgments

The author and co-authors extend the deepest gratefulness to the community of Monduli district, Arusha particularly the one living in Engalaoni, Imbibia, Lossimingori, Lemiyoni, Makuyuni juu, Mlimani, and Zaburi villages, as well as MTPs who participated deliberately in the present study. The local authorities are exceptionally cherished for the friendly support given to us during the fieldwork in the study area. We also thank the staff of the National Herbarium (TPHPA) for assisting us in herbarium work. Special appreciation goes to Gabriel S Laizer (Field botanist) and his team members, Dr. Neduvoto Piniel Mollel (Head of Division, National Herbarium, TPHPA), John Elia Ntandu (TPHPA researcher), and Diana Mbaruku (TPHPA herbarium database Logger), for their extrovert assistance during the identification and validation of the specimens. Also, special thanks go to the Tanzania Forest Service of the Monduli District (TFS-Monduli), Arusha, for their prodigious support and approval to include some of the areas under their authority in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

This study was performed by considering Bennett’s Golden Rule for Ethnobotany Field Work [28]. Also, an official approval and support letter was provided by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) administration. The study participants were informed about the benefits of taking part in the present study. To obtain their consent, a brief discussion was made with the MTPs, and the aim of the study was clarified so that they would be clear about the intention of documenting the flora and knowledge thereof used in TFS and TM for academic use with no commercialization being involved. It was also made clear that the usual benefits they receive by practicing their TFS and TM will not be affected by giving full information about the flora used in TFS and TM. Verbal consent was obtained from the study participants before the commencement of the study. The costs of travel and time spent were remunerated with modest payments.

Consent for Publication

All authors have read the manuscript and agreed for publication.

Author’s Contributions

RPC: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing-original draft and editing. JR^c, JR^a, and MNC: reviewing, editing, and Supervision.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10496475.2024.2369874.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Tanzania Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoEST).