Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Laboratoire de Gestion et Valorisation de la Biodiversité au Sahel, Université Abdou Moumouni, BP 10662 Niamey, Niger
The use of plants by local people for health care has long been observed. This practice still persists in different communities. This study presents a bibliographic summary highlighting the knowledge of plants used in traditional pharmacopoeia in Niger. Analysis of the scientific literature, such as articles, dissertations and theses from the Google Scholar and PubMed search engines, as well as grey literature, revealed a number of items of information. A total of 315 medicinal species, including 8 fungi, were identified, divided into 220 genera and 88 families. The Papilionaceae, Poaceae and Caesalpiniaceae, with 30, 18 and 16 species respectively, are the best represented families. Leaves (28.89%) and bark (18.33%) are the most commonly used plant parts. The predominant methods of preparation are decoction (37%), maceration (23%) and powder (13%), while the oral route (44.87%) is the main method of administering plant-based remedies. Recipes are mainly administered 3 times a day (52.34%) and the predominant duration of treatment is one day (26%). Analysis of the scientific data available on medicinal plants in Niger suggests that further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the practices and uses of plants in traditional medicine.