Unité d’Écodéveloppement, Ethnobiologie et Savoirs endogènes, Département des Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, RD Congo
This study carried out in the main markets of the City of Kinshasa aims to contribute to the knowledge of medicinal plants and their therapeutic uses in order to convert local naturalistic knowledge into scientific knowledge to be preserved sustainably. It emerges from this study that: 66 species divided into 59 genera and 40 families have inventoried in the medicinal flora sold in Kinshasa. These plants treat 38 diseases. However, the best consensus emerges among respondents only in the treatment of fever due to Malaria and Diabetes. The lowest consensus is achieved with the treatment of hemorrhoids, urinary infections, high blood pressure, sexual weakness and cough. Salespeople and traditional practitioners are recruited from men as well as women. They are almost evenly distributed across different ages. The use of medicinal plants is a common practice in age groups from 30 to 67 years with a predominance in people aged 45-54 years. However, the majority of sellers have as their main activity the sale of medicinal plants, and half associate the sale of medicinal plants with other products. Decoction is the most used method of preparation while the bark and root are the most stressed parts of the plant. It is therefore desirable that chemical screenings and phytochemical analyses be carried out on plants mentioned in the treatment of malaria and diabetes.