Medicinal plants and traditional practices of Xhosa people in the Transkei region of Eastern Cape, South Africa

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out in the former Transkei homeland to document the unwritten knowledge related to traditional uses of medicinal plants. The indigenous people of Transkei, Eastern Cape, South Africa depend on the natural plant resources from their environment for medicine, food, pastoral, cultural and religious needs. This area, mainly inhabited by the Xhosa people, has remained ethnobotanically unexplored until recently. The present investigation among the herbalist, traditional doctors, herb traders, tribal priests and other knowledgeable local people documented medicinal and other uses of 35 species of traditional medicinal plants belonging to 34 genera and 26 families. The study recorded the local, scientific and family names of the medicinal plants. The plant parts used and method of administration are also presented in this paper. This firsthand information points out the importance of local flora to tribal groups and non-tribal people of Transkei. In spite of western influence, the Xhosa people of Transkei still believe in the efficacy of herbal medicine, and prefer to use these traditional remedies. Further, scientific study will be required for validation of these ethnomedicines.