Ethnomedicine

Globally, millions of people in the developing world rely on medicinal plants to improve their primary health care, income generation and livelihood. An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted in four markets in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The aim was to document the diversity of medicinal herbs sold in the markets, their modes of preparation, the plant part(s) used, dosage, and the method of utilization. The respondents were primarily women, consisting of buyers and sellers of the herbals.

The ethnomedicinal use of Ocimum gratissimum was valued against some socio-economic features which include household size, educational status, farm size holdings and economic status. Results obtained revealed that respondents as prerequisites did not consider these features to their consciousness to the efficacy of the extracts and its relative affordability. At present, households, homesteads and farms constitute the major primary and secondary sources respectively.