ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PROPAGATION OF SOME ENDANGERED MEDICINAL PLANTS FROM NANDI SOUTH DISTRICT Jeruto Pascaline *, Mutai Charles^ and Ouma George*^ *Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), P.O Box 249 Kitale, Kenya; ^Center for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya; *^Department of Botany and Horticulture,Maseno University, P.O. Box 333, Maseno, Kenya

BACKGROUND Plants useful - food, shelter, clothing, fuel, medicine, crafts, cosmetics, income & employment (Balick,1996;Karori, 2003; Olembo,1995;Kokwaro,1976 &1993). Herbal products- spices, tisane, medicinal raw materials, aromatics plants, functional food ingredients, essential oils, flavourings, fragrance products, dietary supplements and ecological balance (Kokwaro, 1976; UNEP, 1993). Herbal products recognized- scientific knowledge (Rukangira,2001). 80-90% Africa population(WHO,1979;Karori,2003). Increased demand both locally and internationally - High population, poverty (rural and urban), increased awareness, high cost of modern medicine, limited access to trained doctors, food scarcity (dry and famine seasons).

Introduction… SOUTH NANDI DISTRICT. high human population High demand for herbal products Over harvesting- reduces the inventory / diversity Deforestation (Biketi, 1989 and 2000).

Objectives To document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in South Nandi district. To identify propagation methods for the endangered medicinal plants.

RESULTS 152 medicinal plants identified belonging to 57 families. Diseases frequently treated- respiratory (24%), gastrointestinal (22%), skin ailments (18%), other infections (16%). Habit of mostly used herbal plants are herbs & shrubs (69%) tree (20%) and liana (11%). Plant parts frequently used – roots 38% and leaves (32%) Majority of the practitioners are women (60%).

Plant parts utilized in herbal medicines PART UTILIZED FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%) Roots 38 25.00 Leaves 32 21.05 Root/ leaves 31 20.39 Root /bark 14 9.21 Bark 10 6.58 Seeds 8 5.26 Whole plant 7 4.61 Bark/leave 3 1.97 Flowers Fruit 2 1.32 Bulb Sap/latex Total 152 100

Discussion Compositae and Labiatae were the most commonly used medicinal plants –they are also the most diverse plant families. Low no. of trees & lianas is due to high deforestation and overgrazing hence high no. of shrubs and herbs. The predominant usage of roots in drug preparation (25%) is detrimental to the plants and may lead to loss of wild resources. Record of new medicinal uses for Datura stramonium to treat madness, Ehretia cymosia & Conyza subscaposa shows that such surveys add value to science. Drug preparation by concoction & decoction were most frequently used- best in extracting the active compounds. Some compounds were active in vitro, suggesting they may exhibit activity in vivo.

Discussion… Auxins promote rooting systems of 3 medicinal plants 3 species have different ranges of effective auxin concentration. M2 & M3 have broader ranges than M1 (0-200ppm)

Conclusions 152 medicinal species were identified. New medicinal uses reinforces importance of such surveys. Plants reported in ethno studies should be tested broadly as this may bring new data from bioassays that were not registered in traditional folklore. Plants conservation strategies should involve their propagation on farm e.g. these studies show that it is possible to root stem cuttings of Toddalia asiatica, Carissa edulis & Asystasia schimperi using auxins. Stem cutting was the technique best suited for propagation of Asystasia. Non-mist polypropagator –used for propagation; promotes good rooting /constructed from available & cheap materials

Acknowledgment People of Nandi for sharing the indigenous knowledge. Co-authors for teamwork in writing the paper. Staff – NMK, UoN, Maseno University.

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