ABSTRACT
Background: In Cameroon, numerous people rely on medicinal plants and possess knowledge on the use of these plants. Plant knowledge from indigenous people is rapidly disappearing due to environmental, social and economic pressure, processes and changes. In view of this, ethnobotanical studies have been carried out in the area where medicinal plants are the main source of health care in order to preserve traditional knowledge of plant use. This study aims to document and quantify medicinal plant knowledge on the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions of Menoua Division, West Cameroon. Methods: Information related to medicinal plant species and plant remedies was collected through semi-structured interviews with 34 informants accompanied by homegarden sampling, walk-in-the-woods and snowball sampling. Quantitative methods were used to determine cultural importance index, relative frequency of citation and fidelity level which represent informants’ consensus. Results: A total of 49 medicinal plant species representing 26 different botanical families were recorded in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions of Menoua Division, West Cameroon. Most-cited plant families were Acanthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae and Rhamnaceae. Plant species Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Asystasia spp., Cymbopogon citratus, Gouania spp., Persea americana, Sonchus oleraceus and Vernonia amygdalina were considered as relatively important plants for treating diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments. Conclusions: The study indicated the unique knowledge of medicinal plants used for treating diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions. Our findings not only confirm uses of medicinal plants documented elsewhere, but also add interesting new information that should be confirmed through formal biochemical analysis and clinical trials.