The Ethnomedicine of the Haya people of Bugabo ward, Kagera Region, north western Tanzania

\ud The Kagera region, in north western Tanzania, is endowed with a strong culture of traditional medicine that is well supported by a rich diversity of medicinal plants. However, most of the plants in this region have not been documented nor evaluated for safety and efficacy. As an initiative in that direction, this study documented the knowledge on medicinal plant use by traditional healers of Bugabo Ward in Bukoba District. Key informants were selected with the help of local government officials and information on their knowledge and use of plants for therapeutic purposes was gathered using a semi-structured interview format. In this study 94 plant species representing 84 genera and 43 families were found to be commonly used in the treatment of a variety of human ailments. The family Asteraceae had the highest number of species being used as traditional medicines. The study revealed that Malaria is treated using the highest number of different medicinal species (30), followed by skin conditions (19), maternal illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases (14), respiratory diseases (11) and yellow fever, Herpes simplex and peptic ulcers (10). Majority of the species are used to treat less than five different diseases/conditions each and leaves were the most commonly used part, comprising 40% of all the reports on use of plant parts. Trees comprised the most dominant growth form among all plants used for medicinal purposes in the study area. Bugabo Ward has a rich repository of medicinal plants and this reinforces the need for an extensive and comprehensive documentation of medicinal plants in the area and a concomitant evaluation of their biological activity as a basis for developing future medicines.\u

Steroids isolated from Millettia versicolor Baker (Fabaceae)

The objective of this investigation was to isolate and determine the chemical constituents of the leaves of Millettia versicolor Baker, a medicinal plant used in the traditional pharmacopoeias of Central Africa, essentially for its pain-relieving and anti-parasitic properties. A methanol extract of the leaves was made. The chemical compounds isolated were analyzed by HPLC/MS and GC/MS. The structures wereelucidated on the basis of spectral studies (IR, RMN 1H, 13C) and confirmed by comparison with published data. Seven known compounds (two sterols, one stanol and four triterpene alcohols) were determined, the major compound being stigmasterol. Except lupeol, previously isolated from M. versicolor aerial parts, these compounds are isolated from this plant for the first time. Their presence supports the pain-relieving use of the plants, since 5 of the 7 compounds have reported antiinflammatoryactivity, and 2 of these 5 had also an anti-nociceptive action