Ethnobotanical survey of culinary herbs and spices used in the traditional medicinal system of Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa

• Ethnobotanical study of culinary and medicinal uses of herbs and spices in Nkonkobe Municipality.
• 58 plants belonging to 29 families and 50 genera were identified and documented.
• Spice with highest informant consensus and use value was Lippia javanica (Burn. F.) Spreng.
• This is the first report on spices in this Municipality.

This study was conducted to identify and document herbs and spices used for culinary and medicinal purposes in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Seventy four community members were interviewed in 7 locations using the rapid appraisal method. Ethnobotanical data was collected for 58 species of plants belonging to 29 families and 50 genera. The use-value and informant consensus factor (ICF) were employed to determine the relative importance of the spices, their culinary and medicinal uses, as well as the homogeneity of the informants' knowledge. The plant family with the highest ICF was Solanaceae with 6 species, and this was followed by Apiaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Amaranthaceae and Lamiaceae with five species each respectively. The spice with the highest therapeutic uses was Lippia javanica (Burm. F.) Spreng., known locally as Inzinziniba. The parts of the plants used as spices are; leaves (52%), rhizome (13%), fruits (12%), seeds (20%) and roots (3%). The plants species enumerated are used for food seasoning (17%), flavouring (12%), as leafy vegetables (6%), preservatives (29%) and traditional medicines (36%). Majority of the spices are prepared for medicinal use as infusions (40%), decoctions (30%), decoctions or tinctures (13%), tinctures (5%) and decoctions or infusions (12%). This survey on herbs and spices used for culinary and medicinal purposes to the best of our knowledge is the first report on plants used as spices in this region. It will therefore serve as a reference as well as document and preserve the indigenous knowledge of these herbs and spices in Nkonkobe municipality, Eastern Cape and South Africa at large.