Ethnobotanical reputation of plant species from two forests of Madagascar: A preliminary investigation

Madagascar has one of the highest biodiversity and endemism rates in the world but the ethnobotanical reputation of Malagasy flora is still poorly investigated. This paper presents a preliminary survey on the medicinal use of plant species conducted in the dry forest of Kirindy and in the pluvial forest of Sainte Luce located in western and south-eastern Madagascar, respectively. With the help of standardized questionnaires, 8–10 local people working in the two forests were interviewed on the medicinal use of local flora. 45 morphospecies turned out to be used as a medicine by residents of the area and more than half are endemic to Madagascar. About one third of the plants are used to treat gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhoea, abdominal pain, parasite infections, etc.), more than one fourth for malaria/fever, and the remaining third are used to treat rheumatisms, cold, skin illnesses and inflammations.Concluding, this paper (i) provides new information on medicinal plants from two forestry areas of Madagascar never investigated for ethnomedicine and (ii) represents the basis for pharmacological studies and broader surveys on the traditional use of endangered Malagasy flora, which needs to be protected and further explored.