Medicinal plants used in the management of cancers by residents in the Elgon Sub-Region, Uganda - Research Open Access

Sep 24, 2026

Medicinal plants are used in Uganda to treat a range of ailments, yet detailed information on which plants are used specifically for cancer in the Elgon sub-region remains limited. This study documented the plant species involved in cancer management among local residents through observation, questionnaires, interviews, and guided field trips. Descriptive statistics, graphs, and ethnobotanical theory-based interpretation were applied. Results identified 50 species from 36 families, with leaves frequently decocted and key genera showing high preference and reliability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Kudamba etal. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies (2023) 23:450 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04273-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04273-5) BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies RESEARCH Open Access Medicinal plants used in the management of cancers by residents in the Elgon Sub-Region, Uganda Ali Kudamba1,2,3*, Josephine N. Kasolo 1, Godfrey S. Bbosa5, Allan Lugaajju1, Henry Wabinga4, Nixon Niyonzima6, Moses Ocan5, Ali M. Damani 1, Hussein M. Kafeero2, Jamilu E. Ssenku3, Shaban O. Alemu3, Muhammad Lubowa7, Abdul Walusansa2,3 and Haruna Muwonge 1 Abstract Background In Uganda, medicinal plants have been utilized to treat a variety of ailments, including cancer. However, there is little information available about the medicinal plants used to treat cancer in the Elgon subregion. As a result, the current study documented the plant species used in the management of cancer in the Elgon sub-region. Methods Data were gathered by observation, self-administered questionnaires, interview guides, and guided field trips. Analyzing descriptive statistics and creating graphs were done using SPSS (version 21. 0) and GraphPad Prism® version 9 .0. 0, respectively. Well-established formulae were used to calculate quantitative indices. The narratives were interpreted using major theories and hypotheses in ethnobotany. Results A total of 50 plant species from 36 families were documented, and herbal knowledge was mainly acquired through inheritance. Fabaceae and Asteraceae comprised more plant species used in herbal preparation. Most plants were collected from forest reserves (63%); herbal therapies were made from herbs (45%); and leaves were primarily decocted (43%) . The most frequently used plants were Tylosema fassoglensis, Hydnora abyssinica, Azidarachata indica, Prunus Africana, Kigelia africana, Syzygium cumini, Hydnora africana, Rhoicissus tridentata, Albizia coriaria, and Plectranthus cuanneus. All the most commonly used plants exhibited a high preference ranking (60–86%) and reliability level (74 .1–93. 9%) . Generally, the ICF for all the cancers treated by medicinal plants was close to 1 (0 .84–0. 95) . Conclusions The ten most commonly utilized plants were favored, dependable, and most important for treating all known cancers. As a result, more investigation is required to determine their phytochemistry, toxicity, and effectiveness in both in vivo and in vitro studies. This could be a cornerstone for the pharmaceutical sector to develop new anticancer medications. Keywords Cancer, Ethnobotanical survey, Herbalists, Elgon sub-region, Medicinal plants *Correspondence: Ali Kudamba[alikudamba@gmail.com](alikudamba@gmail.com) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[http://creativecom](http://creativecom)[mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](mons.org

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study in the Elgon sub-region?

To document the medicinal plant species used by residents to manage cancers in the Elgon sub-region, Uganda.

How were data on medicinal plants collected?

Data were gathered through observation, self-administered questionnaires, interview guides, and guided field trips.

How many plant species and families were documented?

A total of 50 plant species from 36 families were documented for cancer management.

Sep 24, 2026

Upload by Guten tag