­­Medicinal Plant Use and Trade Among the Samburu People in Maralal Town, Kenya


 Background: The Samburu people have for the longest time used traditional knowledge on medicinal plants to treat diseases both in human and livestock due to the attributed belief of how effective they are. I set out to understand medicinal plant use and trade among the Samburu community in Maralal town. The objectives of this study were to; (1) identify and document the medicinal plants traded, (2) record the medicinal uses of identified plants, (3) document the parts of the plant used and methods of preparation. Method: I conducted market surveys and held in-depth discussions with the traders on what plant parts were used and sold and where they collected and sourced their plants. I also joined ﻿collectors in the wild and collected samples for further identification. Results: From the market surveys, a total of 24 plants species from 16 families were traded. Most of the plants were collected from Kirisia Forests Reserve and the arid shrublands within Samburu County. It was noted that Myrsine africana L., Rotheca myricoides (Hochst.) Steane & Mabb., Rhamnus staddo A.Rich., Salvadora persica L. and Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam were the most popular species with buyers. Most of the plants were used to treat multiple ailments. Stomach related problems and respiratory disorders were some of the commonly treated ailments. ﻿Conclusion: It is evident that use and trade of medicinal plant is an important economic activity in Maralal, however; overharvesting plants from the wild has contributed to some species like Osyris lanceolata Hochst. & Steud (East African sandalwood) and M. africana becoming rare and scarce hence the need to establish conservation measures and sustainable exploitation.


Introduction
Medicinal plants are an important ecosystem service in the provision of health care. Traditional knowledge on use of medicinal plants is actively practiced by many around the world. In Africa, communities use medicinal plants for prevention or treatment of diseases in both humans and livestock. To date, traditional knowledge on medicinal plants has traditional healers in sub-Saharan as key providers of healthcare (1) with about 80% of the population depending on it (2).
Even with the availability of medical facilities such as hospitals, health centers, and clinics, the low cost of medicinal plants, its effectiveness, and availability have made it a preferred option especially by the rural population in Kenya (1). Ineffectiveness and dissatisfaction with conventional medicine have made the use of medicinal plants popular (3) especially in treating chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension (4). Others use medicinal plants to complement conventional medicine (5,6). In many African countries trade in medicinal plants form part of the informal economy contributing to the livelihood of the traders especially women (7)(8)(9)(10). Interesting enough, when it comes to ethnobiological market studies very few or none at all have been carried out in the different parts of the world considering how simple it is (11). It is therefore important to study medicinal plants traded in local markets within a country to document and quantify traded products (12). This can provide estimates of species richness, highlight traded species that require urgent conservation action and especially those that have been overharvested (13). Traditional knowledge on medicinal plants not only shows a country's medicinal ora (8) but highlights the signi cance of traditional medicine on healthcare (14). Kenya has over 40 ethnic tribes each with its own unique culture and belief. Therefore, the knowledge and use of medicinal plants is different among the tribes. Most of the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants is orally passed down from one generation to next generation within the different tribes. Unfortunately, this important knowledge is quickly disappearing because most of the young generation now prefer white collars jobs in urban cities as alternative sources of income. In all the major urban markets in Kenya, there are traders selling or/and giving advice on medicinal plants products both as raw plant parts or/and readily available dosage that they have prepared themselves (15). Most of these medicinal products are traded as bitter liquid concoctions, bitter powders, sun dried roots, leaves, owers and fruits. Quantity and quality controls are also questionable because most of the plant products are sold in open air markets where they are openly displayed and exposed to dust particles, they are stored and packed in recycled sacks, newspapers, plastic bottles, tins or bags which may affect the safety and hygiene of the medicine. Also, diagnosis concerns and uncertainty regarding dosage are some of the challenges associated with medicinal plants. In Kenya, there is no regulatory framework on medicinal plant use and trade, no detailed database on medicinal plants with most of the trade being informal and unregulated. There's also a lack of conservation effort of medicinal plants considering majority of the plant products are harvested from the wild. To recognize plant species that require conservation priorities, it is important to understand species traded and amounts sold (14) hence the need for market surveys. The objectives of this study were to; (1) identify and document the medicinal plants traded in Maralal town, (2) record the medicinal uses of identi ed plants, (3)   [1] http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/samburu-county.html

Medicinal plants trade and use
From the market surveys, 24 plant species from 16 families were traded ( Table 1). 15 of the 24 plants were collected from Kirisia Forest Reserve (Table 2) . Apart from its medicinal values, S. persica was popular for dental cleanliness as a toothbrush. Most of the plants were used to treat more than one ailment. Those used to treat sexually transmitted diseases such as R. myricoides were listed as the strongest and most dangerous. Four of the traded plants Ajuga remota Benth, Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl., Cissus rotundifolia Vahl and Cissus quadrangularis L were also used to treat diseases in livestock. Osyris lanceolata Hochst. & Steud was one of the traded species and due to overharvesting, it has become rare to nd in the wild. The species is currently listed as illegal to harvest or trade any part, in Kenya, however, the traders didn't seem to know this. To portion the quantity of product to sell, a 100 grams recycled tin was used to measure seeds, small pieces of bark, and roots ( Picture 1). The price was standard at $0.45 per 100 grams for most of the traded parts. A bundle of barks or stems ( Picture 2 and Picture 3) was sold at $1. Most of the medicinal plants traded were in dry form mainly roots, barks, leaves, and seeds. Also, a cold bitter decoction of eight plant species mixed and boiled together was sold by a few traders. The decoction was known by the local name as "Lekeek isiet" and was made using R. prinoides, T. asiatica, R. staddo, R. myricoides, M. africana, U. massaica, C. spinarum and Croton megalocarpus Hutch. Multiple plant parts either single or mixed together were the most sold plant parts at 29% followed by roots and barks at 25% and leaves at 9% respectively.
The family with most species was Leguminosae (3), Lamiaceae (2), Rhamnaceae (2), and Rutaceae (2) other families were represented by one species. The plants are prepared by rst boiling them and consumed as either a cold or hot decoction mixed with either tea, soup or milk. Mostly administered orally apart from "Lolpiyayo" which is sniffed after crushing the dried bark into a powder. traders stated that some of the plants were becoming rare to nd mostly due to deforestation, anthropogenic activities (19) and drought. Overharvesting was noted as the major factor contributing to the decline especially for plants with high demand and where roots and barks were harvested. This was the case with O. lanceolate which the traders stated that it had become rare to nd both in the shrublands and in Kirisia forest Reserve. Apart from its medicinal qualities, the species is exploited for its essential oils used in the perfume industry. The popularity and increase in demand for the R. myricodes and M. africana threaten populations in the wild with the species becoming scarce hence the need for sustainable extraction and management. Increase in market demand and overharvesting of medicinal plants from the wild threatens with loss of biodiversity (49,71). Local extinction of species such as Olea europaea L. and Rhamnus prinoides L. have been reported in Loitoktok (69). The traders stated that the knowledge was orally passed down generations; however, the majority of the traders lacked apprentices because the younger generation opted for alternative livelihoods in urban cities. This leads to the loss of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants because the mastery is not passed down or shared. Additionally, the use of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants use faces threats from the allopathic healthcare sector because the former is not formally recognized in Kenya (69). Since the trade is informal, it is di cult to get any gures on estimates of how much plant product is traded in term of quantity for any given period. None of the interviewed traders kept any records of their sales.

Conclusion
This study highlights the importance of medicinal plants as the basis of traditional medicine. A total of 24 species from 16 families were recorded from the market surveys. Trade of medicinal plants is an important source of income for many both in the rural and urban areas in Kenya. Unfortunately, most of the trade in Kenyan markets is undocumented hence little is known on the conservation status of most traded species. Therefore, there is a need to develop a complete database of medicinal plant species that are used in Kenya. This will guide in conservation efforts especially for overharvested species such as O. lanceolate, R. myricoides, and M. africana. Assessing the current population status of important medicinal plants in the wild will aid in the establishment of conservation measures as well as sustainable exploitation. Since the trade is informal, it was di cult to get any gures on how much plant product is traded.

Declarations
Acknowledgments I'm grateful to all the participants especially the traders who shared their knowledge. I also want to thank the translator and research assistant who enabled a smooth process during data collection during market surveys and in the wild. This study is part of a Ph.D. research project at Karatina University, Kenya.
Ethics approval and consent to participate Permission was granted by the local authorities and the people interviewed before undertaking the study.

Consent for publication
The people interviewed were made aware that the information collected could be made public.

Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.
Availability of data and materials Map of a study area in Samburu County (23) Note: The designations employed and the presentation of the material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Research Square concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This map has been provided by the authors.

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