CONTACT : MARK OHIOGHIE AIHIOKHAI markaihiokhai@yahoo.com 89 Abstract Overtime, the state of maternal health in Nigeria is poor and can be attributed to inadequate access to reproductive health services, poverty and in some areas, cultural resistance. Medicinal plants used in Agbarha-Otor, Ughelli, Nigeria for managing women’s reproductive health during pregnancy, birth and post -partum were investigated in this study. Surveys were conducted using semi structured questionnaire as well as guided field-walks where respondents, specifically, Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), were interviewed. A total of 30 plants belonging to 23 families having properties against different conditions, ailments and peculiarities relating to gynaecological conditions in women were documented. Most of the documented plants belong to Asteraceae family. Also, most of the reported plants were majorly herbs and shrubs which were surveye d plants from the wild. Leaves were the most frequently used plants’ part. Most of the medications were prepared as decoctions and mostly administered orally. From the survey, it can be deduced that the use medicinal plants for reproductive healthcare and gynaecological conditions in the study area is still in practice. Scientific validation of the biological properties of the surveyed plants is highly advocated and cultivation of medicinal plants to minimize the pressure on wild species is also recommended. ISSN : 2580-2410 eISSN : 2580-2119 Some Plants Used for Reproductive Health by Women in Agbarha-Otor Community, Delta State Mark Ohioghie Aihiokhai1*, MacDonald Idu2 and Thessy Arueyingho3 1,3 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Agbarha-Otor, PMB 100, Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria. 2 Phytomedicine Unit, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of L ife Sciences, University of Benin, PMB 1154, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria Introduction Healthcare services in Nigeria are often inadequate and unevenly distributed with only a small number of healthcare facilities provide antenatal care, delivery and postnatal services. This deficiency has really contributed to the extremely high maternal mortality ratio, which is among the highest in the world. WHO (2012), reported that maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is 630 per 100,000 live births, which places the country as the country with the tenth highest mortality ratio. Nigeria and other five countries account for almost half (49%) of the overall maternal mortality figure worldwide according to Hogan et al. (2010). This unprecedented figure cannot be disassociated from the fact that most Nigerian women employ the services of alternative traditional healthcare through the services of Traditional Birth Attendants OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Applied Biology Keyword Reproductive health; traditional birth attendants; traditional maternal healthcare; medicinal plants; Agbarha-Otor Article History Received May 19, 2022 Accepted December 14, 2022 I nternational Journal of A pplied Biology is lic ensed under a C reative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly c ited. International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 90 (TBAs) and Traditional Healers (THs), who inevitably use medicinal plants for maternal healthcare, particularly in rural areas where orthodox health facilities are either absent or extremely difficult to access. The utilization of plants and their resources for combating various ailments predates written history and they are still in use all over the world (Abe and Ohtani, 2013). Aihiokhai et al. (2019) reported that phytochemical analysis of plant extracts has shown the presence of some secondary metabolites which is responsible for their immense medicinal value. However, medicinal plants are widely used for pre and postnatal care in many parts of the world (Zumsteg and Weckerle, 2007); thus , various studies have documented many medicinal plants used to treat obstetric and gynecological conditions, such as birth control, complications during pregnancy and child birth and problems associated with infertility (Abdillahi and Van Staden, 2013). Indigenous people worldwide have used oral traditions and empirical means to compile detailed knowledge regarding the use of medicinal plants, and this information is disseminated from generation to generation (Abel et al., 2005). Delta State is one of the oil producing states in Nigeria, that is among the Niger Delta States in the country. Culturally, the state houses majorly the Anioma, Urhobo, Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri ethnic people. The study area, Agbarha-Otor community is made up of the Urhobo speaking people and it is under the Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. Despite the effort made by the past and present democratically elected governments in building many health institutions across the state, most people of the state still patronise complementary alternative healthcare services through the use of medicinal plants, which are readily available and considered to be relatively safer than the synthetic drugs that are inevitably used in orthodox medicine. The use of these plants to alleviate medical ailments has resulted in the indiscriminate cutting of plant resources, and this is posing a great danger to plant biodiversity in the state particularly, in rural communities, which is already facing threats from deforestation, desert encroachment, and global warming consequences. Although people have been using medicinal plants to cure various diseases in Agbarha -Otor community since time immemorial, though, their usage is rarely documented, and the information is being passed verbally from generation to generation which is associated with the danger of losing some useful information possibly due to aging and death of the custodians of this knowledge (Maregesi et al., 2007), urban migration and lack of interest by the younger generation. These challenges gave credence to this study which was carried out in Agbarha -Otor community in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. We aimed to produce an inventory of some of the plants used by the people of Agbarha-Otor community in treating female reproductive conditions and a documentation of how the identified plants are used by the traditional maternal healthcare providers . We adopted a focused approach and carried out a non-experimental validation of the plants used by examining literature on phytochemical/pharmacological information supporting the medicinal activity of any of the documented plants. However, we have defined reproductive conditions to include those that affect reproductive success through pregnancy, delivery and for the prevention of conception. International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 91 Materials and Methods Study Area Agbarha-Otor community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State (Latitude: 5.53oN; Longitude: 6.07oE) with a total population of 75,000 people as at last census in 2006. It is one of the largest communities in Urhobo land, both in terms of size and population and widely known for its rich crude oil deposits which is evident in the presence of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the community. Agbarha -Otor lies within the tropical rain forest area of the Niger-Delta regions which experiences high rainfall and humidity most of the year. The climate is equatorial and marked by two distinct seasons: dry and wet seasons. The dry season lasts from about November to April and is significantly marked by the cool "harmattan" dusty and haze from the North-east winds. The Rainy season spans from May to October with a brief dry spell in August. The community is mainly inhabited by the Urhobo people of Nigeria with their major occupation being farming, trading and fishing. Figure 1. Map of Study Area Adapted from: Ohwonohwo (2019) Data collection and sampling techniques Ethnobotanical data were collected between May and August, 2021 from 5 respondents who were selected purposely based on their rich traditional knowledge of plants and their medicinal applications especially for women’s reproductive health concerns. The selected respondents are traditional birth attendants (TBAs) who are well known in the community due to their long practice in providing services related to traditional healthcare. International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 92 The TBAs were interviewed separately in Urhobo language though often times in English language with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. Basically, the questionnaire contained pertinent questions relating to plants used for gynaecological conditions that occur before and after natal periods. The method of Cotton (1996) and Martin (1995) was employed. Prior to any data collection, informed consent was obtained from respondents. They were informed that collected data on their indigenous knowledge will be stored and disseminated for new scientific research and discoveries geare d towards encouraging conservation efforts to saving their medicinal plants. Information provided by the TBAs were done without objection, except that they wanted their professional interest to be protected by concealing information on the exact formulations and dosages of their products. In the method followed, guided field walks were carried out by accompanying the practitioners during plant collections. Plants were shown with detailed information as to type of management (wild/cultivated), availability (common, sporadic, rare) in the area, whether their occurrence is threatened or not, reproductive health conditions treated, plant part(s) used, whether combinations of plants are used to treat any particular ailment or if any single plant is used to treat multiple ailments, condition of plant part used (fresh/dried), other ingredients or additives (if any), preparation methods, routes of administration, noticeable adverse effects of remedies, taboos/beliefs related to collection and use of plants, source of knowledge, and method of indigenous knowledge transfer. It was observed that the medicinal plants collected by the TBAs in Agbarha-Otor community were collected both from nearby areas to the community, as well as considerable distances (more than 5 km) away from the locality. Digital pictures of plant samples were taken in the field and samples were collected, pressed and taken to the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Benin for identification and authentication. The non experimental validation for the documented plant species was carried out using a modified version of method described in Lans (2007). This method mainly involved searching scientific literature for phytochemical/ pharmacological data supporting the medicinal use of a plant species. Results and Discussion Results A total of 30 plants belonging to 23 families having properties against different conditions, ailments and peculiarities related to female reproductive health and gynaecological conditions were documented, and their medicinal activity validated non- experimentally. The conditions were categorised on the basis of when they occur in the female reproductive cycle, that is, during pregnancy (antenatal), at delivery, and after delivery (post-partum) as presented in Table 3. International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 93 Table 1. Routes of Administration of herbal preparations Routes of Administration Frequency Percentage Orally 26 87 Topically 4 13 Insertion - - Inhalation - - n = 30 Table 2. Plant parts used in the herbal preparations Plant parts Frequency Percentage Leaf 20 55.6 Seed 1 2.8 Fruit 4 11.1 Root 1 2.8 Flower 1 2.8 Whole plant 2 5.6 Stem bark 7 19.4 n = 36 Table 3: Some plants used for female reproductive health in Agbarha -Otor community of Delta State, Nigeria S/N Condition Plant species used Family Parts used Preparation and administration 1 Contracepti ve Persea americana Mi l l . Lauraceae Barks Decocti on of s tem bark taken oral l y 2. Pos tpartum hemorrhage Citrullus lanatus Thumb. Cucurbi taceae Leaves Topi cal appl icati on of l eaves poul ti ce on the s ki n International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 94 3 Mi s carriage Baphia nitida Lodd. Fabaceae Leaves Topi cal appl icati on of dri ed ground l eaves to l ower porti on of the abdomen. 4 Labour i nducti on Pennisetum purpureum Schumach Poaceae Leaves Leaves decocti on mi xed wi th l ocal gi n (ogogoro) taken oral l y 5 Impotency/i nferti l i ty Citrus aurantifolia Chri s tm. Rutaceae Frui ts and l eaves Frui ts and l eaves decocti on mi xed wi th pal m kernel oi l and l ocal gi n taken oral l y 6 Uri nary tract i nfecti on Zea mays Sturtevant. Grami neae Frui t s i l k Decocti on of frui t s i l k taken oral l y 7 Res us ci tates uncons ci ous pregnant women Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach. & Thonn.) Mül l . Arg. Euphorbi aceae Leaves Bl ended l eaves appl i ed topi cal l y 8 Uterus pos i ti oni ng Ocimum basilicum L. Lami aceae Leaves Leaf i nfus i on taken oral l y 9 Umbi l i cal cord i nfecti on Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken Cras s ul aceae Leaves Mi xture of l eaf decocti on and l ocal gi n taken oral l y 10 Gonorrhea Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl . Poaceae Stem Local gi n i nfus ed wi th s tem, tobacco and nati ve s al t taken oral l y 11 Fetal macros omi a Piper nigrum Li nn. Pi peraceae Leaves Fres h l eaf i s chewed 12 Iron-defi ci ency anaemi a Musa paradisiaca Li nn. Mus aceae Frui t, Bark Bark i s boi l ed wi th bl ack pepper and fi s h and taken oral l y 13 Anaemi a Lycopersicon esculentum Li nn. Sol anaceae Frui ts Frui t decocti on taken oral l y 14 Inducti on of l abour and bl ocked fal l opi an tube Brassica oleracea Li nn. Cruci ferae Leaves Mi xture of l eaf decocti on and l ocal gi n taken oral l y 15 Sedati ve for chi l dren Hibiscus rosa- sinensis Li nn. Mal vaceae Leaves Leaf decocti on i s us ed to bath i nfant 16 Internal bl eedi ng Aspilia africana (Pers .) C.D. Adams As teraceae Leaves Leaf decocti on taken oral l y 17 Induces l abour Vernonia amygdalina Del . As teraceae Leaves Leaves are extracted wi th l ocal gi n and taken oral l y 18 Inhi bi ts mens truati on duri ng pregnancy Newbouldia laevis (P. Beauv.) Seem. Bi gnoni aceae Stem bark Gri nded s tem bark i s boi l ed wi th Cameroon pepper (yel l ow pepper) and taken oral l y 19 Mi s carriage Musanga cecropioides R.Br.ex Tedi l e. Urti caceae Seeds ,l eaves and root Infus i on of gri nded whol e pl ant parts taken oral l y International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 95 20 Mi s carriage Magnifera indica Li nn. Anacardi aceae Stem bark Stem bark are boi l ed and admi ni s tered oral l y 21 Anaemi a and reduce naus ea and morni ng s i cknes s duri ng pregnancy Musa acuminate Col l a. Mus aceae Stem The s tem i s cut when rotten, ground and i nfus ed i n water 22 Mi s carriage Laportea aestuans (L.) Chew Urti caceae Leaves Decocti on of bark, tobacco l eaf and bl ack pepper taken oral l y 23 Headaches and s tabi l ises s ugar l evel duri ng concepti on Curcuma longa L. Zi ngi beraceae Leaves Leaves decocti on wi th s ens i ti ve pl ant (Mimosa pudica) admi ni s tered oral l y 24 Mi s carriages and aborti ons Avicennia africana P.Beauv. Acanthaceae Leaves , s tem and fl ower Fl owers and l eaves decocti on mi xed wi th pal m kernel oi l and l ocal gi n admi ni s tered oral l y 25 Pregnancy nouri s hment Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Wi l l d. Tal i naceae Leaves Decocti on of l eaves taken oral l y 26 Contracepti on Jatropha gossypiifolia L. Euphorbi aceae Leaves Leaves decocti on mi xed wi th l ocal gi n taken orally 27 General wel l bei ng Ipomoea aquatica Fors s k. Mal vaceae Whol e pl ant Water i nfus i on of powdered pl ant taken oral l y 28 Mi s carriage, l abour i nducti on and mens trual cramps Corchorus olitorius L. Logani aceae Leaves Leaves decocti on taken oral l y 29 Sti l l bi rths and anaemi a Spigelia anthelmia L. As teraceae Leaves Local gi n extracti on of l eaves taken oral l y 30 General wel l bei ng Ageratum conyzoides L. Convol vul aceae Whol e pl ant The whol e pl ant i s extracted wi th l ocal gi n and admi ni s tered oral l y International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 96 Fig 2. Frequencies of families of medicinal plants Discussion Documentation of ethnomedicinal knowledge is a critical issue owing to its enormous potential to enhance research and development. Available literature consulted shows that, the use of ethnomedicinal plant to treat various ailments, particularly, female re productive conditions were not documented in the study area. Hence, this study adopted an approach focusing on plants used for female reproductive conditions in Agbarha -Otor community. During the field survey, respondents, specifically, traditional birth a ttendants (TBAs) reported ethnomedicinal data on 30 species of plants (Table 3) distributed across 23 families (Fig. 2) as having properties against different conditions, ailments and peculiarities related to the women’s reproductive healthcare. Among the families reported, Asteraceae was represented with the highest number of plant species in conformity with some studies carried out in a locality of Cameroon (Adjanohoun et al. 1996; Focho et al., 2009; Noumi, 2010; Simbo, 2010). These plant families are among the most commonly seen in South Western Nigeria used in the treatment of infertility and sexually transmitted diseases (Abo et al ., 2000). Also, the vast utilisation of species from these families might relate to the presence of effective bioactive secondary metabolites that work against reproductive health–related infections (Cowan 1999; Gazzaneo et al. 2005; Kamatenesi-Mugisha and Oryem-Origa, 2007; Kothale et al. 2011; Néné Bi et al. 2009). Most medicinal plants used in the area were majorly herbs, which agrees with results from other studies in Nigeria (Agize et al. 2013), Cameroon (Adjanohoun et al . 1996; Jiofack et al. 2010; Simbo 2010), Uganda (Kamatenesi–Mugisha et al. 2007), Ivory Coast (Djah and Danho, 2011), Ethiopia (Megersa et al., 2013), and Democratic Republic of Congo (Kasali et al. 2014). This could imply that herbs are usually more readily available than shrubs and trees that are often prone to regular harvesting from forest patches far away from residential areas. It could also be due to the fact that the respondents live in areas where herbs abound. Giday 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 F re q u e n c ie s Families of medicinal plants https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927590/#CR1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927590/#CR28 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927590/#CR59 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927590/#CR68 International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 97 et al. (2003) reported that the Zay people in Ethiopia derive their medicine from herbs partly because of the fact that forests have been degraded, whereas it usually takes much more time and effort to harvest material from medicinal trees. It is true that herbs can grow everywhere (roadside, home garden, farmland, and in wild habitats) and are common in the study area compared with other perennial life forms such as shrubs, trees, and climbers. On the other hand, the present survey is in conflict with the findings of Diame (2010), which was conducted on plants used for reproductive health at Bia Biosphere reserve in the Western region of Ghana. This survey is also in conflict with the findings of Yineger and Yewhalaw (2007), who reported that trees and shrubs were the most frequently used growth forms for remedy preparation. It was evident that oral (87%) route was the most used method of administration since the majority of the extracts were alcoholic or aqueous and acceptable through the mouth, while topical (13%) application was the least means of application of the herbal formulation (Table 1). Leaves were the most frequently used plant part in the preparation of drugs in the study area (Table 2). They were administered directly in the form of decoctions, and in few cases applied externally or topically. Okoegwale and Omefezi (2001) indicated that leaves of plants accumulate inulins, tannins, and other alkaloids more than other parts of plants which may be responsible for their various medicinal properties, hence explaining their wide use. According to our results, the majority of herbal remedies in the research area were prepared from fresh materials. Other ethnobotanical inventories (Bussmann and Glenn, 2010; Yineger et al., 2007) have also indicated the wide use of fresh plant material for remedy preparation probably because of the higher efficacy than when using dri ed plant materials. This is because some important chemicals may change in nature or even disappear upon drying. Also, the dominant use of medicinal plant decoctions for various ailments associated with the reproductive health system might be related to their proven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenous knowledge accumulated on the efficacy of such preparations. On the other hand, the frequency of this method of preparation by a majority of respondents may be due to the fact that boiling the ingredients will kill some unwanted microbes that are present on the plant material used (Souad et al. 2010; Ugulu et al. 2009). However, heat facilitates extraction of active compounds from the plant part that is an ingredient in the remedy (Souad et al. 2010). Decoction also preserves the prepared medicine longer (Muthu et al. 2006). The majority of medicines in the area were administered orally (Table 1). Similar findings were reported by other researchers (Bhattarai et al . 2010; Kamatenesi et al. 2011). The choice of oral administration over possible alternatives may be related to the use of some solvents (water, palm oil, or local wine or gin called ogogoro) that are commonly believed to serve as a good vehicle to transport the remedies’ active princ iples. As already indicated, most medicinal plants in the study area are collected for their leaves, such as Citrullus lanatus, Pennisetum purpureum, Alchonea cordifolia, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Laportea aestuans, Curcuma longa and so on (Table 3). This practice helps to reduce the pressure on these species compared to what would happen if bark or roots were collected. From the overall survey, it could be deduced that the high level of consensus among the TBAs about the use of medicinal plants for reproductive healthcare and gynaecological conditions prevalent in the study area suggests that the ethnomedicinal uses of these plants is still in practice. However, scientific validation of the biological properties of the surveyed plants is highly advocated and cultivation of medicinal plants to minimize the pressure on wild species is also recommended. International Journal of Applied Biology, 6(2), 2022 98 References ABPSD. (2019/20). Statistical information on Nepalese Agriculture. 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