Medicinal Plants of Nigeria and Their Uses

The use of medicinal plants is an important part of Nigeria’s culture. Traditional healers over the years have used plants to treat and prevent a wide range of illnesses. The information provided here is from the research paper – Traditional medicine and the future of Medicinal Plants in Nigeria by Emmanuel C. Chukwuma, Mike O. Soladoye, Roseline T. Feyisola.

Published in Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies 2015; 3(4): 23-29.

	Table 1: Some selected medicinal plants used in the traditional treatment of various ailments in Nigeria.
S/no	Family	Scientific Name	Habit	Parts used	Medicinal Uses
1	Acanthaceae	Asystasia gangetica (L.) T.	Herb	Whole plant	Pile, astringent
2	Acanthaceae	Elytraria marginata Vahl	Herb	Leaves	Stomachache, chest pain, wounds
3	Acanthaceae	Phaulopsis ciliata (Wild.) Hepper	Herb	Whole plant	Wounds, laxative
4	Amaranthaceae	Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult.	Herb	Whole plant	Ulcers, wounds, snake bite, diuretic, purgative
5	Amaranthaceae	Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R. Br	Herb	Leaves, whole plant	Antibacterial, astringent, headache
6	Amaranthaceae	Celosia argentea L.	Herb	Leaves, roots, seeds	Diuretic, gonorrhea, diarrhea
7	Amaryllidaceae	Crinum jagus Baker	Herb	Leaves, bulbs	Anthelmintics, purgative
8	Anacardiaceae	Anacardium occidentale L	Tree	Leaves, fruits, stem	Typhoid fever, malaria, cough,
				bark	haemmorhoids
9	Anacardiaceae	Mangifera indica L.	Tree	Leaves, bark	Malaria, diarrhoea, diabetes, sore-throat,
					dysentery
10	Anacardiaceae	Spondias mombin L.	Tree	Fruits, bark, leaves	Diuretic, fever, cold, gonorrhea
11	Annonaceae	Annona senegalensis Pers.	Tree	Leaves, roots, fruits	Cancer, dysentery, cough, venereal
					diseases, toothache,
12	Annonaceae	Enantia chlorantha Oliv.	Tree	Bark	Fever, jaundice
13	Annonaceae	Monodora myristica Dunal	Tree	Seeds	Constipation, arthritis, anaemia,
					headache
14	Annonaceae	Uvaria chamae P. Beauv		Leaves	Toothache
15	Apocynaceae	Alafia barteri Oliv.	Liana	Leaves, roots	Diabetes
16	Apocynaceae	Alstonia boonei De Wild	Tree	Roots, leaves	Astringent, fever, diabetes,
					haemmorhoids
17	Apocynaceae	Funtumia elastica (Preuss) Stapf.	Tree	Stem, latex	Pile, jaundice
18	Apocynaceae	Holarrhena floribunda (G. Don)	Tree	Bark, leaves, whole	Anti-malaria, gonorrhea, dysentery,
		Dur & Schinz		plant	jaundice
19	Apocynaceae	Picralima nitida (Stapf) T.Dur &	Shrubs	Bark, roots	Fever, diabetes, desentery
		H.Dur.
20	Apocynaceae	Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel	Tree	Rook, bark, leave	Convulsion, jaundice, measles, herpes,
				sap	internal disorder
21	Arecaceae	Cocos nucifera L.	Tree	Bark, nuts, root	Dysentery, diabetes, migraine,
					toothache, liver ailment, laxative
22	Asclepiadaceae	Calotropis procera R.B	Shrub	Leaves, roots, latex,	Diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery, cough
				bark	elephantiasis, leprosy, ringworm,
23	Asclepiadaceae	Gongronema latifolium Benth.		Root, stem	Haemmorhoids, anthelmintic
24	Asclepiadaceae	Pergularia daemia (Forssk)	Climber	Whole plant	Fever, piles, diabetes
		Chiov.
					Diarrhoea, ulcer, diabetes, skin diseases,
25	Asteraceae	Ageratum conyzoides L.	Herb	Whole plant	irregular menstruation and menstrual
					pain
26	Asteraceae	Aspilia africana (Pers.) C.D.	Herb	Leaves, whole plant	Stomach disorders, Skin diseases,
		Adams.			haemmorhoids
27	Asteraceae	Chromolaena odorata (L.) King	Herb	Leaves	Antimicrobial, fever, headache,
		& Rob.			dysentery, haemmorhoids
28	Asteraceae	Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn.	Herb	Leaves	Sores, skin infections
29	Asteraceae	Tridax procumbens L.	Herb	Whole plant	Stomachache, backache
30	Bignoniaceae	Kigelia africana Benth	Tree	Leaves, stem-bark	Anti-cancer
31	Bignoniaceae	Newbouldia laevis (P.Beauv)	Tree	Bark, roots, leaves	Epilepsy, diabetes, convulsions, skin
		Seaman ex Bureau.			infections
32	Bombacaceae	Adansonia digitata L.	Tree	Leaves, fruit pulp,	Malaria, asthma, diabetes
				bark
33	Bombacaceae	Bombax buonopozense P. Beauv	Tree	Stem-bark, leaves	Skin infections, stomachache, Blood
					tonic,
34	Bombacaceae	Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.	Tree	Leaves, oil	Laxative, sores, rheumatism
35	Caesalpinaceae	Senna alata (L.) Roxb	Shrub	Leaves, stem-bark	Dysentery, skin diseases, anthelmintics,
					constipation
36	Caesalpinaceae	Senna hirsuta (L.) Irwin &	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Antimicrobial, skin infection, purgative
		Barneby
37	Capparaceae	Crateva adansonii Dc.	Tree	Leaves, roots	Diabetes, tonic, stomachache, antipyretic
				Leaves, fruits, stem	Diabetes, malaria, dysentery, diabetes,
38	Caricaceae	Carica papaya L.	Shrub	bark	venereal diseases, catarrh, cough,
					purgative, haemmorhoids
39	Chenopodiaceae	Chenopodium ambrosioides L	Herb	Leaves, whole plant	Anthelmintics, rheumatism, anti-cancer
40	Combretaceae	Combretum platypterum Hutch. &	Climber	Leaves	Febrifuge
		Dalziel
41	Connaraceae	Byrsocarpus coccineus (Schum &	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Pile, dysentery, gonorrhea, tumours,
		Thonn) Benth			jaundice, cancer, haemmorhoids
42	Connaraceae	Cnestis ferruginea DC	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Laxative, fever, toothache,
					haemmorhoids
43	Convolvulaceae	Merremia tridentata (L.) Hallier	Climber	Whole plant	Gonorrhea
		F.
44	Costaceae	Costus afer Ker-Gawl	Tall herb	Stem, roots	Nausea, stomachache, aphrodisiac
45	Crassulaceae	Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam) Pers.	Herb	Leaf sap	Diuretic
46	Cucurbitaceae	Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad	Tree	Whole plant, roots,	Purgative, diabetes, anthelmintics,
				fruit pulp	contraceptive
47	Cucurbitaceae	Coccinia barteri (Hook. f.) Keay	Climber	Whole plant	Venereal diseases
48	Cucurbitaceae	Momordica charantia L.	Climber	Leaves, fruits,	Ulcers, burns, skin infections, diabetes,
				whole plant	convulsion, pile
49	Cucurbitaceae	Telfaria occidentalis Hook.f.	Climber	Leaves	Blood tonic, convulsion
50	Cyperaceae	Mariscus flabelliformis	Herb	Roots	Root is aromatic
		Kunth
51	Dioscoreaceae	Dioscorea bulbifera L.	Climber	Fruits	Boils, fever
52	Dioscoreaceae	Dioscorea dumentorum (Kunth)	Climber	Leaves, tubers	Malaria, abdominal pain
		Pax
53	Euphorbiaceae	Acalypha fimbriata	Herb	Leaves	Ulcer, rheumatism, asthma
		Schum. & Thonn.
54	Euphorbiaceae	Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach.	Shrub	Leaves, stem, bark	Fever, diabetes, antimicrobial,
		& Thonn.) Muell. Arg.			haemmorhoids
55	Euphorbiaceae	Alchornea laxiflora (Benth) Pax	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Typhoid fever, antioxidant
		et K. Hoffm
56	Euphorbiaceae	Bridelia ferruginea Benth	Shrub	Leaves, stem-bark, roots	Diabetes, anti-cancer, haemmorhoids
57	Euphorbiaceae	Bridelia micrantha (Hochst) Baill	Small tree	Leaves, roots, bark	Headache, migraine
58	Euphorbiaceae	Croton lobatus L.	Herb	Leaves, root	Skin diseases, rheumatism
59	Euphorbiaceae	Euphorbia heterophylla L.	Herb	Leaves, roots	Purgative, skin infections
60	Euphorbiaceae	Flueggea virosa (Roxb. ex Wild.)	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Cancer, dysentery
		Voigt
61	Euphorbiaceae	Jatropha curcas L.	Shrub	Leaves	Haemmorhoids
62	Euphorbiaceae	Mallotus oppositifolius Mull. Arg.	Shrub	Leaves, roots	Astringent, ringworm
63	Fabaceae	Caesalpina bunduc (L.) Roxb	Shrub	Leaves, seeds, roots	Fever, diabetes, anthelmintics
	(Caesalpinioideae)
64	Fabaceae	Albizia adianthifolia (Schumach.)	Tree	Stem bark	Gonorrhea, cough, diabetes, night
	(Mimosoideae)	W.Wight			blindness, haemmorhoids
65	Fabaceae	Albizia ferruginea (Guill & Perr)	Tree	Root, stem bark,	Dysentery, constipation
	(Mimosoideae)	Benth		leaves
66	Fabaceae	Albizia zygia (DC) J. F. Machr.	Tree	Leaves, stem bark	Astringent
	(Mimosoideae)
67	Fabaceae	Leucaena leucocephana (Lam)	Small	Leaves	Anti-microbial
	(Mimosoideae)	Dewit	tree
68	Fabaceae	Parkia biglobosa Benth.	Tree	Leaves	Anti-inflammatory
	(Mimosoideae)
69	Fabaceae	Abrus precatorius L.	Climber	Leaves, seeds, roots	Diabetes, cough, convulsion,
	(Papilionioideae)				rheumatism, conjunctivitis
70	Fabaceae	Baphia nitida Lodd	Small	Leaves, bark, roots	Skin diseases, constipation, small pox,
	(Papilionioideae)		tree		diabetes
71	Fabaceae	Centrosema pubescens Benth	Climber	Leaves	Skin diseases
	(Papilionioideae)
72	Fabaceae	Crotalaria retusa L.	Herb	Leaves, root, seds	Fever, diabetes, dysentery
	(Papilionioideae)
73	Fabaceae	Dalbergiella welwitschii (Baker)	Shrub	Stem, roots, leaves	Purgative, diabetes, anthelmintics,
	(Papilionioideae)	Baker f.			menstrual disorder.
74	Fabaceae	Pterocarpus osun Craib	Tree	Root, stem bark	Eczema, asthma, skin infections
	(Papilionioideae)
75	Guttiferae	Garcinia kola Heckel	Tree	Fruits, roots, stem-	Anti-cancer, dysentery, diabetes,
				bark	toothache, cough
76	Icacinaceae	Icacina trichanta Oliv.	Shrub	Leaves, roots,	Rheumatism, aphrodisiac, anthelmintics,
				exudates	toothache, abortificent, purgative
77	Irvingiaceae	Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-	Tree	Leaves	Spleen infection
		Lecomte O’Rorke) Baill.
78	Labiatae	Ocimum gratissimum L.	Shrub	Leaves, whole plant	Diarrhoea, pile, diabetes, fever, cold,
					convulsion
79	Lamiaceae	Solenostemon monostachyus (P.	Herb	Leaves	Convulsion, stomachache
		Beauv.) Briq.
80	Liliaceae	Allium ascolanicum L	Herb	Whole plant	Haemmorhoids, diabetes, anti-cancer,
					dysentery
81	Liliaceae	Asparagus africanus Lam.		Whole plant	Antimicrobial, diuretic
82	Loganiaceae	Anthocleista djalonensis A.chew	Tree	Leaves, stem-bark	Eczema, diabetes, antipyretic, purgative,
					abdominal pain
83	Lythraceae	Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.	Tree	Ripe fruits, leaves	Diabetes
84	Lythraceae	Lawsonia inermis L.	Shrub	Leaves	Haemmorhoids
85	Malvaceae	Abelmoschus esculentus (L.)	Herb	Fruit	Diabetes, fever, gonorrhea, dysentery
		Moench
86	Malvaceae	Sida veronicifolia Lam.	Herb	Whole plant	Aphrodisiac, diabetes
87	Marantaceae	Thaumatococcus danielli Benth.	Herb	Fruit	Diabetics
88	Melastomataceae	Heterotis rotundifolia (SM) Jac-	Herb	Whole plant	Antimicrobial, venereal diseases, cough
		Fel
89	Meliaceae	Khaya grandifoliolia C. DC.	Tree	Bark	Haemmorhoids, anti-cancer
90	Menispermaceae	Chasmanthera dependens Hochst	Climber	Roots	Haemmorhoids, diuretic
91	Menispermaceae	Rhigiocarya racemifera Miers	Climbing	Leaves, seeds	Sedative, aphrodisiac
			plant
92	Moraceae	Antiaris toxicaria Lesch	Tree	Root, stem bark	Purgative, skin diseases, epilepsy
93	Moraceae	Ficus exasperata Vahl	Tree	Leaves, bark, roots	Skin irritations, gonorrhea, urinary
					ailments, haemmorhoids
94	Moraceae	Ficus mucuso Welw. Ex Ficalho	Tree	Stem-bark	Insomnia
95	Moraceae	Ficus sur Forssk	Tree	Roots	Haemmorhoids
96	Moraceae	Milicia excelsa (Welw.) C.C.	Tree	Bark, roots, latex	Nausea, malaria, abdominal pain,
		Berg			insomnia
97	Moraceae	Musanga cecropioides R. Br.	Tree	Roots, leaves, bark,	Dysentery, cough, anthelmintics
				exudates
98	Moraceae	Myrianthus arboreus P.Beauv.	Tree	Bark	Dysentery, cough, anthelmintics
99	Moraceae	Treculia africana Decne	Tree	Leaves, bark, roots	Haemmorhoids, ulcer, cough, venereal
					diseases, anaemia, malaria
					Haemmorhoids, diabetes, diarrhoea,
100	Musaceae	Musa paradisiaca L.	Shrub	Leaves, roots, fruits	dysentery, epilepsy, goiter, gonorrhea,
					anaemia
101	Myristicaceae	Pycnanthus angolensis (Welw.)	Tree	Leaves, stem-bark	Black tongue, cough, fever, skin
		Warb			infections, anti-cancer
102	Myrtaceae	Psidium guajava L.	Tree	Roots, leaves, stem-	Haemmorhoids, fever, dysentery,
				bark	diarrhoea, malaria, stomach ache
103	Olacaceae	Olax subscorpioidea Oliv.	Tree	Roots, leaves, stem,	Yellow fever, jaundice, guinea worm,
				bark, twigs	venereal disease
104	Pandaceae	Microdesmis puberula Hook f.	Shrub	Leaves, bark, seeds	Dysentery, impotence, Diarrhoea, wound
105	Pedaliaceae	Ceratotheca sesamoides Endl.	Herb	Seeds	Relieve pains after circumcisions
106	Periplocaceae	Parquetina nigrescens (Afzel.)	Climber	Leaves, roots	Anti-cancer, blood tonic, haemmorhoids
		Bullock
107	Piperaceae	Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth	Herb	Whole plant	Haemmorhoids, hypertension,
					convulsion, bone fracture
108	Piperaceae	Piper guineense Schum & Thonn	Climber	Seed	Haemmorhoids, anti-cancer, diabetes
109	Poaceae	Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.	Grass	Leaves, young	Haemmorhoids, gonorrhea,
				shoots	anthelmintics
110	Poaceae	Saccharum officinarum L.	Shrub	Leaves, stem juice	Diabetes, headache
111	Polygalaceae	Carpolobia lutea G. Don	Shrub	Leaves, bark	Aphrodisiac
112	Polygalaceae	Securidaca longepedunculata	Shrub	leaves	Anti-cancer
		Fres.
113	Portulacaceae	Portulaca oleracea L.	Herb	Whole plant	Fever, skin diseases, fever, astringent
114	Rubiaceae	Morinda lucida Benth	Tree	Leaves, stem bark	Malaria
115	Rubiaceae	Nauclea diderrichii (De Wild. &	Tree	Roots, stem-bark,	Gonorrhea, pile, malaria, dysentery
		T.Durand) Merr.		fruits
116	Rutaceae	Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.)	Tree	Leaves, stem bark,	Malaria,gonorrhea, haemmorhoids,
		Swingle.		fruit	diabetes
117	Rutaceae	Citrus sinensis Osbeck.	Tree	Stem-bark, leaves,	Dysentery, headache, fever, toothache,
				fruits	anthelmintics
118	Sapindaceae	Lecaniodiscus cupanioides Planch	Tree	Leaves, stem-bark,	Fever, purgative, typhoid, jaundice,
		ex Benth		roots, seeds	cough, malaria
119	Sapindaceae	Paullinia pinnata L.	Woody	Leaves, roots, seeds	Jaundice, leprosy, aphrodisiac, dysentery
			climber
120	Sapotaceae	Chrysophyllum albidum G. Don	Tree	Bark, leaves	Haemmorhoids, diabetes, stomachache,
					fever
121	Solanaceae	Nicotiana tabacum L.	Shrub	Leaves	Convulsion, stimulant
122	Sterculiaceae	Theobroma cacao L.	Tree	Seeds, roots	Gingivitis, toothache, stimulant
123	Tiliaceae	Corchorus olitorius L.	Woody	Leaves, roots, seeds	Diarrhoea, fever, asthma
			herb
124	Tiliaceae	Glyphaea braevis (Spreng)	Small	Leaves, stem bark	Fever, diarrhoea, toothache, fever
		Monachino	tree
125	Ulmaceae	Trema orientalis (L.) Blume	Tree	Leaves, stem-bark	Haemmorhoids, fever, cough, dysentery,
					pneumonia, jaundice
126	Urticaceae	Laportea aestuans (L.) Chew	Herb	Whole plant	Piles, burns, astringent
127	Zingiberaceae	Aframomum melegueta (Roscoe)	Herb	Leaves, seeds	Haemmorhoids, diabetes, stimulant
		K.Schum.
Sources: Bhat et al. [17], Abubakar et al. [12], Odugbemi [18], Ugbogu et al. [19], Soladoye et al. [13, 4, 15].

 

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