Ethnopharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Skin-Related Conditions in Ilorin, North-Central, Nigeria

The abundance of plants with medicinal values has been of great impact on the skincare industry in Nigeria.  However, proper documentation of plants with skincare values has not been made. Hence, this study was aimed at surveying the traditional medicinal values of some commonly used plants for the management of skin conditions by herbal practitioners in Ilorin metropolis. Ethnobotanical and demographic information of willing respondents were obtained on the most commonly used medicinal plants via semi-structured questionnaires and oral interviews. The names of the plants were further confirmed in the world flora online (www.worldfloraonline.org). A total of 57 plants species representing 30 families, were reported by 62 respondents including males (40%) and females (60%) designated as herbs sellers (32%), traditional medicine practitioners (16%), farmers (8%), housewives (11 %) and Herb sellers/traditonal medicine practitioners (33%). Their knowledge sources include inheritance (40%), training (24 %), and a combination of inheritance and training (36%). Euphorbiaceae was the most cited (11 %) plant family, the leaves were the most cited (48%) plant part used, crush to extract juice was the most widely used (51%) method of preparation, and topical application on the affected spot was the most reported (43%) method of administration. The plants mentioned in this survey were reported to have applications against psoriasis, eczema, boils, acne, measles, dandruff, rashes, and wounds. General skin conditions represented the most commonly mentioned (14%) skin condition while mastitis was the least mentioned (1%) condition.  Also, the highest (0.923) informant consensus factor (ICF) was mentioned for insect bites while the least (0.263) ICF was mentioned for general skin conditions. This study documented some of the medicinal plants that have been used to treat various skin-related conditions most of which have been mentioned in available scientific pieces of literature.