Folk taxonomy and quantitative ethnobotany of Loranthaceae in northern Benin.

Loranthaceae are parasitic plants whose management remains a challenge. This study aimed to record Loranthaceae species and their local names, assess their use diversity and cultural importance, identify the socio-demographic groups with the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses, and analyze the variation of Loranthaceae utilization between and within ethnic groups. Ethnobotanical data were collected in northern Benin from March 2015 to February 2017 through semi-structured interviews and show-and-tell method with 240 informants. We assessed Loranthaceae use diversity and cultural importance using the Relative Frequency of Citations (RFC), Number of Uses (NU), Use Value (UV), Number of Use Categories (NUC), and Cultural Importance Index (CI). Poisson's regression and Jaccard's Similarity Index were used to identify the socio-demographic groups with the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses and evaluate the similarity of Loranthaceae uses between ethnic groups. Results showed 15 local names used to designate four Loranthaceae species namely Agelanthus dodoneifolius, Tapinanthus globiferus, Phragmanthera kamerunensis, and T. ophioides. Loranthaceae were involved in 113 uses gathered in six categories namely human medicine, magic, veterinary, fodder, food, and cosmetic. Human medicine was the most important category with 0.825 as RFC, 61.10 % of the uses, and 100 % of Loranthaceae species involved. A. dodoneifolius was the most important Loranthaceae species regarding its RFC, NU, UV, and NUC of 0.938, 95, 2.296, and 6 respectively. CI showed A. dodoneifolius and T. globiferus were mainly used in human medicine with 0.729 and 0.458 respectively. Bariba, traditional healers and breeders, old people, and animists presented the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses. Loranthaceae utilization varied according to ethnic groups and Bariba and Yom presented a similarity in Loranthaceae uses. Loranthaceae valorization in the production of improved traditional medicines, animal feed, soap, and green fertilizers will contribute to the biological control of these plants.

The resource availability hypothesis (RAH) and cross-cultural patterns: which one explains West African Cochlospermum species' uses in Benin?

BACKGROUND: Cochlospermum tinctorium and C. planchonii are two wide edible plants of sub-Saharan countries, e.g., Benin, widely used as food, medicine, dye, handicraft, etc. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled harvest of their rootstocks exposes them to local extension risk. To enhance knowledge on the determinants of their uses in Benin, this study aimed to (i) assess the use forms, use values, abundance and perceived spatiotemporal dynamics, (ii) determine how does local abundance or cultural patterns affect the use of Cochlospermum species, and (iii) assess local harvesting modes and conservation management practices. METHODS: In total, 756 Dialog Partners through 27 ethnic groups were questioned countrywide using semi-structured interviews. Questions refer to local taxonomy, specific uses, organs sought, harvesting modes and local conservation strategies; afterward, local abundance of each species was assessed. Ethnobotanical indicators were analyzed through citation frequencies to obtain quantitative data. Comparison tests and statistical analyses were performed using R program. RESULTS: C. tinctorium and C. planchonii are locally well known and involved into 83 specific uses, grouped into ten categories of which medicinal use was the main. The use values of C. planchonii (0.10 ± 0.19) and C. tinctorium (0.23 ± 0.20) varied significantly between the ethnic groups, and only C. tinctorium showed index of commercially value above 75% for some ethnic groups. The current abundance, about 84 and 97 tufts.ha-1, respectively, for C. planchonii and C. tinctorium was perceived with a decline of 81.09% (C. tinctorium) and 73.7% (C. planchonii) of informants. Moreover, the Spearman's correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests performed revealed that the use values of C. tinctorium and C. planchonii were significantly correlated on the one hand with their local abundance and on the other hand with the investigated ethnic groups. About 42.3% of women produced the powder as principal activity, while more than 57% produced it mainly at the end of farm work. However, the conservation management was practiced by very few informants and consisted of partial harvesting of rootstocks (41.8%, only in southern Benin), and fallowing of harvesting areas (3.97%, only in northern Benin). CONCLUSION: Facing the declining abundance and increasing market demand for rootstock powder of Cochlospermum species, existing local conservation strategies should be promoted and the domestication process should be initiated for sustainable management of these important wild edible plants before these important resources disappear completely in the wild.

Variation of Secondary Metabolite Contents and Activities against Bovine Diarrheal Pathogens among Zygophyllaceae Species in Benin and Implications for Conservation.

Balanites aegyptiaca is a wild plant species largely used in folk medicine and a priority fruit tree in West Africa. In Benin, its overexploitation for ethnoveterinary uses could lead to its rarity or extinction in the long term. In this study, we evaluate the possibilities of its substitution by other Zygophyllaceae species. This study was based on optimal defense theory, which distinguished 2 categories of plants: K-strategist species and r-strategist species. Phytochemical screening was carried out based on aqueous extracts of the leafy stems of B. aegyptiaca and Guaiacum officinale (K-strategist species) and Tribulus terrestris and Kallstroemia pubescens (r-strategist species) for the identification of chemical compounds. The phenolic compounds were quantified by quercetin and vanillin methods. The extracts were tested against 5 bacterial strains responsible for severe diarrhea in bovines. Our results indicated the presence of many phytochemicals, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponosides, and tannins. The diversity in secondary metabolites is higher for r-strategist than K-strategist species. The contents of total polyphenols ranged from 4.82 ± 0.05 to 41.84 mg GAE/g of extract. The flavonoid contents varied from 30.64 ± 0.35 to 57.11 ± 0.13 mg QE/g of extract and those of the tannins from 0.04 ± 0.00 to 0.06 ± 0.01 mg PE/mL. The sensitivity of the bacterial strains showed a significant dependence on the extracts. Of the species, K. pubescens showed a bactericidal activity on the majority of strains tested and thus could be a potential substitute for B. aegyptiaca in the treatment of infectious diarrhea.

Breeders' knowledge on cattle fodder species preference in rangelands of Benin.

BACKGROUND: We undertook ethnobotanical and ecological studies on fodder plants grazed by cattle across Benin national area. The study aims to ascertain the top priority fodder plants in order to catalogue the indigenous knowledge regarding their use. METHODS: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and covered 690 breeders and 40 days of pasture walk. These were analysed using similarity index of Jaccard (IS), relative frequency citation (RFC) and fodder value during pasture walk (FVPW). RESULTS: We documented a total of 257 fodder plant species, of which 116 recorded during ethnobotanical investigations and 195 during pasture walk. These species belong to 181 genera and 54 families. Both methods shared 52 species. Leaves (58%) and leafy stem (28%) were the most grazed parts of plant. The most common species used as fodder included Andropogon gayanus, Panicum maximum, Pterocarpus erinaceus and Flueggea virosa. The top species with a highest FVPW were Panicum maximum and Pterocarpus erinaceus. A total of 16 species were considered as top fodder plants in Benin. CONCLUSIONS: The wide diversity of plants reported indicates that there is a number of promising fodder species in the flora of Benin. The insight gained in this study relating to bovine feeds could guide in the selection and introduction of feed innovations that could improve livestock production.