AUTHORS:

Gentil Kaboyi Iragi, Butoto Imani wa Rusaati, Innocent Byamungu Nfizi, Cephas Ndabaga Masumbuko, Patience Arusi Gendusa, Astrid Matendo Furaha & Jun-Won Kang

ABSTRACT:

This study aimed to investigate the ethnomedicinal plant knowledge among people living in
The Uvira Territory. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with and field
observation in seven villages. The ethnomedicinal data was analyzed using the informant
consensus factor (ICF), family importance value (FIV), and Jaccard index (JI). Sixty-nine medicinal
plants belonging to 61 genera and 34 families were used to treat eight disease categories.
Fabaceae was not only the dominant family but also a family with the high FIV.
Decoction and pound were the most common methods of preparation, while leaves were
the most used part. We compared this study with 24 other ethnomedicinal studies conducted
in RD Congo and neighboring countries, and the results showed that the Jaccard
index ranged from 0.57 to 10.94. The highest degree of similarity (10.94) was found with
another study conducted in Congo, while the lowest degree of similarity (0.57) was found
with a study conducted in Rwanda. The disease category for which there was the highest
number of use (66) and plant species (39) was “diseases of the digestive system disorders
and intestinal parasites” (ICF 0.42). The investigation of the plants used as drugs in the study
area revealed that the population daily relies on medicinal plants to treat different diseases.

KEYWORDS:

Ethnomedicinal plants, traditional healers, Uvira Territory; Democratic Republic of Congo

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