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.

Plant and natural product based homemade remedies for veterinary uses by the Peul community in Benin.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Across Africa, Peul community typically rely on plant-based veterinary knowledge to manage common livestock health problems. Unfortunately, their nomadic life-style being affected by conflicts, land tenure constraints, and drought, they have been shifting to a sedentary life. The process of their settlement led to the erosion of the vast ethnoveterinary skills they had acquired over centuries and forced them to replace the plant and other species they used by commercial products. AIM OF THE STUDY: 1) To collect comprehensive data from the Benin Peul community on common plant-based remedies used to treat livestock diseases and document their preparation and administration. 2) To evaluate the differences and consensus among the Peul community across ecological regions in Benin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews among 88 Peul camps, three (03) bioclimatic zones, and 225 transhumant dialog partners, including agro-pastoralists, healers and pastoralists from mid-July to end of December 2015. Detailed information about homemade herbal remedies (plant species, plant part, manufacturing process) and the corresponding use reports (target animal species, category of use and route of administration) was collected. RESULTS: A total of 418 homemade remedies were reported, of which 235 involved only one plant species (Homemade Single Species Herbal Remedy Reports; HSHR). Information on a total of 310 use reports (UR) were mentioned for the 235 HSHR, and they included 116 plant species belonging to 39 botanical families. Among them, 229 UR were indicated for cattle, 43 UR for poultry, and 38 UR for sheep and goats. The most cited plant species were Khaya senegalensis (19 HSHR; 8.08%), Parkia biglobosa (14 HSHR; 5.95%), Euphorbia unispina (11 HSHR; 4.68%), and Anogeissus leiocarpus (6 HSHR; 2.55%). The URs were indicated for the treatment of viral, parasitic and bacterial diseases but also for multifactorial disorders like diarrhoea, fever, threatened abortion, agalactia etc. The number of plants referred to HSHR decreased from Sudanian to Guineo-congolian zones in concordance with the presence of Peuls. CONCLUSION: The Peul community holds a huge ethnoveterinary knowledge, which needs to be documented, valorised, and promoted. It appears vital to assess phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the most reported species, and their availability across the ecological zones in order to ensure their sustainable use and before this indigenous knowledge disappears completely.

Genetic divergence in northern Benin sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) landraces as revealed by agromorphological traits and selection of candidate genotypes.

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important staple food crop in northern Benin. In order to assess its diversity in Benin, 142 accessions of landraces collected from Northern Benin were grown in Central Benin and characterised using 10 qualitative and 14 quantitative agromorphological traits. High variability among both qualitative and quantitative traits was observed. Grain yield (0.72-10.57 tons/ha), panicle weight (15-215.95 g), days to 50% flowering (57-200 days), and plant height (153.27-636.5 cm) were among traits that exhibited broader variability. Correlations between quantitative traits were determined. Grain yield for instance exhibited highly positive association with panicle weight (r = 0.901, P = 0.000) and 100 seed weight (r = 0.247, P = 0.000). UPGMA cluster analysis classified the 142 accessions into 89 morphotypes. Based on multivariate analysis, twenty promising sorghum genotypes were selected. Among them, AT41, AT14, and AT29 showed early maturity (57 to 66 days to 50% flowering), high grain yields (4.85 to 7.85 tons/ha), and shorter plant height (153.27 to 180.37 cm). The results obtained will help enhancing sorghum production and diversity and developing new varieties that will be better adapted to the current soil and climate conditions in Benin.