Ethnopharmacological Insights into the Use of Chenopodium ambrosioides for Cough Treatment among Togolese Traditional Healers

Abstract

Togo has an ethnobotanical potential with a great diversity of medicinal plants widely used to treat human diseases. Cough associated with respiratory diseases is one of the pathologies traditionally treated with medicinal plants in Togo. Chenopodium ambrosioides (L.) is a species used in the traditional treatment of cough in Togo. The aim of this study was to document the ethnopharmacological uses of Chenopodium ambrosioides in Togolese traditional medicine for treatment of cough. An ethnopharmacological survey was conducted using the semi-structured interview method among Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) from six health districts spread across four health regions. The ethnopharmacological and ethnobotanical data collected were analyzed using the User Value (UV) and Frequency of Citation (FC) of medicinal plants associated with the species. A total of 127 TMPs participated in this study and 96 (76%) of them were male and 31 (34%) were female. 73% of the informants claimed usually use Chenopodium ambrosioides in the cough treatment compared to 27% who claimed to not use it to treat cough. Chenopodium ambrosioides was used in combination with fifty-two (52) other botanical species in the treatment of cough and in the study area, Abrus precatorius Linn. (13.59%) followed by Ocimum gratissimum Linn. (11.58%), Zingiber officinale Rosc. Trans. Linn. (9.73%), Mangifera indica Linn. (6.21%), Eucalyptus citriodora Hooker (4.87%), Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. (4.36%) and Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. (4.19%) were the most popular plants used for cough treatment among the plants recorded. Sixteen (16) other pathologies including pulmonary infections are also treated by Chenopodium ambrosioides (L.). Abscesses, intestinal parasitic diseases, incurable wounds, stomach aches and headaches are the most pathologies commonly treated by this plant. The whole plant (72%) and leaves (22%) are the primary parts utilized for medicinal purposes. Decoction (77.50%) is the main preparation method, with oral (80.83%) and cutaneous (10.83%) routes being the most common modes of administration. The findings from this study provide a solid ethnopharmacological foundation for future pharmacological and toxicological investigations into Chenopodium ambrosioides (L.).