Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in June 2005 among sellers of non wood forest products settled at the Kousséri market, Kousséri sub-division, Logone et Chari division, far north region of Cameroon. A total of 29 medicinal plants were recorded comprising 26 genera and 21 families. Malaria, diarrhoea, jaundice, fever, and hernia were the major ailments in terms of the number of references made by these sellers. There are considerable differences among different sellers in the prices per gram of the same plant species used for the same ailment. Hence, it is not meaningful to link the relative importance of plants to their selling price. An index of performance (Ip) is proposed for each plant species, based on its number of references and according to an arbitrary scale which ranges from 0 to 3. Some plants significantly used (Ip > 0) for treating certain ailments are widely used in other African countries in a similar way. There are also plants of which their effectiveness is confirmed in the literature to possess biological activity related to the ailments indicated. Data recorded at the Kousséri market were compared to those gathered on medicinal plants used by people living around the Kalamaloué national park, located in the same sub-division, 10 km from Kousséri.

Key words: Non wood forest products, medicinal plants, performance index (Ip), sellers, Kousséri market.