Ethnobotanical use of Commiphora swynertonii Burrt . amongst Dorobo people in Tanzania

Department of Pharmaceutics, Muhimbili University of health and Allied Science, P.O. Box 65013, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Department of Natural Products Development and Formulations, Institute of Traditional medicine, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3015, Morogoro, Tanzania.


INTRODUCTION
Dorobo is a Maasai sub-ethnic group living in the Northern part of Tanzania and Southern part of Kenya (Figure 1), with a population of less than 1,000 people (Legère, 2002).Maasai people are rich with appreciable number of cows, goats and sheep (Ole Sankani, 1995).Dorobo are Maasai of low cadre because they are poor.In Maasai language the name Dorobo (pronounced il tóróbò) literally means "the ones without cattle" which actually means "poor people".Most of them live in isolation in remote areas, away from civilization and depend on wild fruits, roots, milk, honey and game meat for food (Kenny, 1981).Infrastructure is non-existent; there are no roads, hospitals nor schools.Living in remote hard-to-reach places which hardly receive modern health services from state-run organs or nongovernmental organizations, Dorobos, depend very much on their ethno botanical knowledge to treat or manage ailments and diseases (Ole and Beckwith, 1990;Ole, 2005;Bussmann et al., 2006).
Being a sub ethnic group of Maasai, this is not surprising because Maasai are famous in East Africa for their traditional herbal medicines, which have been scientifically proven to treat a wide range of diseasesfrom high blood pressure and diabetes to viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections, including malaria and tuberculosis (TB) (Kiringe, 2006).The use of plants by Maasai tribe (including Dorobo) for medicinal purposes has been deeply investigated by Bussmann et al. (2006).Some popular plants for medicinal purposes include Commiphora species, Sericocomopsis hildebrandtii Schinz., Achyranthes aspera L, Warburgia salutaris (Bertol.f.) Chiov., Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd.ex Delile, Albizia anthelmintica Brongn., Euphorbia meridionalis Bally & S. Carter and Rhamnus prinoides L'Hér (Bussmann, 2006;Bussmann et al., 2006).One of the most popular plants used for medicines by Dorobos is a plant known locally as Oltemwai.The plant is used by all Dorobos and many other tribes in Tanzania for treating many ailments (Sindiga, 1992).The plant has been identified as C. swynertonii Burrt.(Sambuta and Masola, 2006) and is depicted in Figure 2a and b.
C. swynertonii belongs to the genus Commiphora (fam.Burceracea).The genus has been researched extensively with regard to its applications in ethnomedicine.Shen et al. (2012) reviewed traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology.Resinous exudates of the bark of the genus Commiphora have been proved to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer activities.They have been used for treatment of arthritis, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular and gynecological diseases.The Chemistry of the genus Commiphora has also been extensively studied and more than 300 compounds have been isolated and identified (El Ashry et al., 2003;Hanuš at al., 2005;Ahmed et al., 2006;Shen et al., 2007;Su et al., 2012), including flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and phytostrerols.Other constituents include carbohydrates, lignans and long aliphatic chain derivatives.The Dorobos refer to C. swynertonii exudates as a "wonder drug" as it is used to treat many ailments and also used as prophylaxis against ill-health.Leaves, roots, barks and exudate tapped from incisioned barks of the tree (Figure 1) are used for various medicinal applications both in humans and animals.The exudate is also used as an acaricide against ectoparisites in cattle, sheep, goats and poultry.
The aim of this study was to investigate the attitude, beliefs and use of ethno botanical products by Dorobo people for medicinal purposes in both humans and animals.A special attention was accorded to C. swynertonii due to its popularity in use amongst Dorobos.The findings in this study were expected to appraise interest to scientists to further investigate and tap the potentials therein that may supplement the current medicines in health care.Exploitation of this potential may also improve economic status of the Dorobos through commercial use of local medicinal plants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Information on the uses of C. swynertonii by Dorobo tribesmen was collected via focus group discussions (FGD) held in Erkesumet township and Kitwai village in Simanjiro District (4° 00′ 00″ S and 36° 30′ 00″ E; 1,455 m above sea level), Manyara Region, Tanzania, between November and December, 2013.A tape recorder and a video camera were used to record the discussion, in addition to writing notes manually.
FGD method was purposefully chosen based on suitability and convenience.Conventional interview using structured or semistructured questionnaires would have expressed more representativeness, but in the circumstances it was not practical because of the difficulty to reach prospective respondents and the time required thereof.Dorobos live very far apart.Each Boma (the household unit) is at least 10 km apart and the only way to travel is on foot.Moreover, most Dorobos do not speak Kiswahili (the National language), and many cannot write or read.Dorobos are also reluctant to talk with strangers.Conventional interview would involve distributing questionnaire and collecting them which would The total number of Dorobos in Tanzania does not exceed 1,000 people (Legère, 2002).
According to local authorities, Dorobo inhabitants where this study was done are estimated at around 150 to 180 people (verbal communication with the local leader, Mr Alamunyaki Kloriti).The Erkesumet group comprised 8 men and 3 women, while that of Kitwai village had 9 men and 2 women.Erkesumet being a township has small shops that sell modern medicines while in Kitwai the place is quite remote and health facilities are far away.The objectives of the FGD were to investigate the attitude, beliefs, knowledge and use of medicines of ethnobotanic origin.The discussion focused on the use of traditional remedies in various disease, local names of popularly used medicines and the diseases they treat, how the medicines are prepared and used, how traditional medicines compare with modern medicines, challenges facing the application of traditional medicines and future of ethnobotanical knowledge of Dorobos.A special treat was directed towards the use of C. swynertonii because of its popularity in use amongst Dorobos.
Contribution of ideas by the participants was free and random, that is there was no particular order of responding.The moderator introduced a theme and directed the discussion.Each participant was asked to give his/her response, which was recorded.Based on the responses, the moderator probed more into the theme.Information obtained was transcribed and the emerging themes were grouped together, coded and analyzed.Microsoft Excel 2007 program was used to calculate frequencies of responses.Three quantitative indices were used to calculate agreements of participants for the purpose of drawing conclusion, and these are: 1. Relative frequency of citation (RFC) which shows the local importance of each medicinal plant (Vitalini et al., 2013).It is calculated as follows:

RFC =
Where FC = number of participants mentioning the use of the plant and N = total number of participants 2. Fidelity level (FL) which is used to indicate the percentage of participants claiming the use of a certain plant for the same medicinal purpose (Jacobo-Salcedo et al., 2011), and is calculated as follows: Where Np is the number of participants who claim use of a given plant and N is the total number of participants.
2. The index of agreement on remedies (IAR), which gives a consensus index of participants about the use of a remedy for a given health condition (Mutheeeswaran et al., 2011), which was calculated as follows: Where nr is the total number of citations registered for a plant, na is the number of illness categories that are treated with the plant.

RESULTS
A total of 29 Dorobo tribe participants (males = 75.9%,Females = 24.1 %) participated in two FDGs conducted in Erkesumet and Kitwai village in Simanjiro district, Northern Tanzania.Majority of participants (86.2%) had no formal education, 13.8% had primary school education and no participant had gone beyond primary education level.On average, each family had 6 cows, 8 goats, 4 heep, 1 donkey and 4 chicken.From the FGDs, it was found that all Dorobos used local medicinal plants as First-line help.All participants have used medicinal plants at least once in their lives.Most participants preferred herbal medicines to modern medicines except some younger participants who live near Erkesumet township (13.9%) who preferred modern medicines to treat non-responding disease such as Malaria, East Coast Fever (ECF) and trypanosomiasis.The young participants who preferred modern medicines also argued that compared to modern medicines, use of local medicines are cumbersome because fresh supplies are required all the time unlike modern medicines.Moreover there are no clear doses in local medicines.Furthermore, herbal medicines were used by all people regardless of social status or wealth.Traditional medicines were preferred because they were affordable and easily accessed, and effective in treatment of various common diseases including wounds, eye infections, skin conditions, animal problems such as retained placenta and hoof and horn lesions.Herbal products were also said to be effective ecto-paraciticides and endo-parasiticides.Dorobos did not have specialized traditional healers because the traditional medicines were universally known to all Dorobos.Any member of a family could collect and prepare any medicine.Local names of 25 most popularly used medicinal plants are listed in Table 1 along with their RFC, FL and IAR.
Regarding threats on the future of ethnobotany amongst Dorobo people, participants expressed concern about the gradual disappearance of medicinal plants due to human deforestation for agricultural development and habitation.Natural forest close to townships was said to be depleted for firewood, charcoal-making, furniture and building materials.Participants of the FGD reported that traders from outside the area (elsewhere in Tanzania and outside Tanzania) were flocking in the area in search of C. swynertonii exudates and other medicinal plants.Furthermore they pointed out that harvesting of medicinal plants was not controlled in any way and no new plants were sowed.Dorobos also expressed worry with regard to sustainability of ethnobotanical knowledge.Traditionally adults pass ethnobotanical information to the young ones to sustain traditional norms and knowledge.However due to changes in the ways of life, the young generation is tending to move to urban areas in search of employment thus eluding cultural information inheritance which include knowledge of important botanical remedies.
The results of the FGD are tabulated in Table 2. Medicinal uses of various plant parts (leaves, barks, bark exudate and roots) of C. swynertonii are listed in Table 3.

DISCUSSION
Participants of the FDGs explicitly supported that Dorobos depend very much on ethno botanical medicines to treat various ailments both in human beings and their livestock.Dorobos live in remote areas, without communication to the outside World.There are no health facilities where they live.With plenty of flora surrounding them, and their ethnobotanical knowledge, Dorobos exploit the situation to feed themselves and treat ill health using various plants.Having had no experience with modern medicines, Dorobos believe more in their local medicines than foreign medicines.To them, herbal medicines are effective (and more effective than modern medicines), have no side effects, and are readily and freely available.However, some younger generation who live near Erkesumet Township, who had been treated with modern medicines prefer modern medicines.The latter claim that herbal medicines are cumbersome to use, have no clear doses and that some are not as effective.Dorobos also assert that there are some few diseases in which herbal medicines are not effective.These include trypanosomiasis and East Coast Fever.In such diseases, Dorobos seek modern remedies.
Participants mentioned several plants being used by Dorobos for medicinal purposes as represented in Table 1 along with their RFC, FL and IARs.The value of RFC ranges between 0 and 1.The value 0 means that nobody referred to the plant as useful while the value 1 means that all participants referred to the plant as useful.In this study, Oltemwai, omisera and Oiti had RFC value 1 meaning that all participants referred to the plants as effective ectoparaciticide, milk stimulant and antidiarrhea, respectively.Oltemwai (C.swynertonii) had the most listed illnesses more than all the plants and all participants concurred that they all use it and also kept it in their homesteads as First-Aid remedy.Thus more attention was accorded to the plant to probe for more information.Participants mentioned several uses of Oltemwai including treatment of sexually transmitted disease, ulcers and wounds (cut wound or burn wounds), recalcitrant ulcers abscess swelling of legs (leg edema), chesty cough (which some participants called tuberculosis) and scabies.The exudate is also used to cleanse bladder and kill insects such as ticks, lice, bed bugs and mange mites.Participants also claimed that the exudates is a worm expeller and treats dental carries.Oltemwai also had fidelity level (FL) value 100% as ectoparaciticide and for the treatment of wounds and recalcitrant ulcers.FL is the percentage of participants claiming the use of a plant for the same medicinal use.The value of FL ranges between 0 and 100%.The value 100% for Oltemwai means that all participants unanimously asserted the uses of oltemwai in these activities.
In order to asses the agreement among participants regarding the acceptability of mentioned medicinal plants, the value of IAR were determined as indicated in the methodology.IAR ranges between 0 and 1.The value 0 means that the number of illnesses equals the number of citations by participants while the value 1 means that all participants agree upon the exclusive use of the species for the particular illness.Omisera for instance has a value Sexually transmitted disease , ulcers and wounds (cut wound or burn wounds), recalcitrant ulcers abscess swelling of legs (leg edema), chesty cough (Tuberculosis?), scabies, body cleansing, bladder cleaning, Acaricide, Worm infestation, skin diseases ( fungal infection?),Dental carries.
Challenges facing ethonobotanical supply and knowledge amongst Dorobo Some of Dorobo children are leaving to go to towns to look for employment.They will not know traditional medicines and knowledge will disappear Herbal medicines cannot be kept for a long time.Usually fresh supply is needed each time.This is wasteful Some areas where we used to get medicines are now restricted or some have been developed for agricultural activities Harvesting medicinal plants is not controlled.Some plants may disappear.Some medicines are becoming popular to outsiders.C.swynertonii exudate is overharvested for sale. 1 liter can fetch as much as 10,000 shillings

Willingness of participants to support research in tradition medicines
All suggested Research to be conducted.Majority (81%) agreed to participate should they be asked to volunteer in research, while 19 % refused with reasons that "outsiders" want to steal their knowledge 1 meaning that all participants agreed that is an effective and solely used for stimulation of milk from cows.The IAR for oltemwai is 0.6, meaning that 60% of participants asserted that oltemwai is effective in 3 out of 6 mentioned medicinal activities.All participants knew oltemwai and have used it at least once in their lives.With a highest RFC and FL, Oltemwai was the most popular medicinal plant amongst participants of the FDG.The native uses of Oltemwai (C.swynnertonii) are supported scientifically by research results.Bakari et al. (2012a) confirmed the antibacterial and anticandida activities of the plant thus supporting its use as antiinfective in chest problems, fungal infections, wound treatment, diarrhoea and sexually transmitted diseases.The roots are cut in small pieces and boiled in water and patients are given a glass or cup of the concoction once daily for a week or up to ten days or when the edema subsides.

Barks
General Health Maintenance Boil and drink regularly Bakari et al. (2012b) confirmed the antiviral activity of volatile oils from the exudates of C. swynertonii and suggested the use of the exudates for treatment of Newcastle disease in poultry.Kaoneka et al. (2007) also demonstrated the repellency activity of essential oils the leaves of C. swynertonii.The authors are currently bioassaying other claimed activities such as wound healing, antihelminthic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities.
Although the Dorobo have great belief in the effectiveness of herbal medicines, particularly C. swynertonii, and some of their claims have been proved albeit in vitro there are no deliberate efforts to tap this potential commercially.This study therefore will pave way to attempt bio-assaying the claimed activities to lay grounds for further research on the potentials of the plant.
This study also unveils the unchecked harvesting of the C. swynertonii plant.Participants of the FDG expressed fear that the rate at which it is used puts it in danger of extinction.During the FDG, it was learnt that there is no control on the harvesting of the exudates of the plant.It may be argued that harvesting the exudates causes minimal damage to the plant, but if the process is not controlled it may lead to damage and death of the plant.This is exemplified by haphazard harvesting of Commiphora guggul in India and Pakistan.The plant C. guggul was indiscriminately harvested for its extensive traditional medicine applications.It reached a point of extinction and was once listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species (http://www.iucnredlist.org).The plant became endangered because of excessive unscientific tapping for its gum resin by the pharmaceutical industries and religious prophets (Soni, 2008).C. guggul just like C. swynertonii has slow growing nature, poor seed setting and poor seed germination rate.To address this situation India's National Medicinal Plants Board launched a project to educate her people on good propagation and conservation of C. guggul (Maheshwari, 2008).Today C. guggul is commercially grown in China, India and Pakistani.Also an improved tapping technique using "Mitchie Golledge knife" coupled with ethephon application has been developed which enhances gum production by about 22 times over that obtained from control and rapid wound healing (Bhatt et al., 1989).
C. swynertonii may economically liberate the Dorobos and other tribes where this plant thrives.In China, India and Pakistan, C. myrrh, C. wightii, C. muggul and C. molmol are cultivated commercially due to their great financial output.Some communities in the horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia) solely depend on these plants for their income.Indigenous people of these countries derive revenue from the sale of Commiphora products (Coulter, 1987).Promoting commercial exploitation of C. swynertonii could serve as one way of poverty alleviation to the beneficiaries, the Dorobo and other people where C. swynertonii thrives.Alternatively, the active ingredients can be produced through cell culture system or biosynthetic pathways which obviate extraction from plants.The efforts may further be supplemented by studies to improve methods of seed germination.Jain and Bashir (2010) suggest use of in vitro somatic embryogenesis, to replenish endangered plants through cell culture.The authors further suggest studies to be conducted to help cultivation of superior genotypes, take up trans-genetic studies to conduct breeding experiments for propagation of improved germplasm.More important methods of in situ conservation should be applied to conserve existing trees in their natural habitat.

Conclusion
Dorobo people use ethno botanical medicines as first-line to treat and prevent diseases both in humans and their livestock.Several species are used to manage a broad spectrum of diseases afflicting the Dorobo community.In few incidences however, some diseases such as trypanosomiasis and East Coast fever do not respond to local medicines and hence Dorobos can afford to use modern medicines to treat them.Ethnobotanical knowledge is passed through generations from adults to children.C. swynertonii is widely applied for various ailments by all Dorobos particularly for treating wounds, sexually transmitted diseases, respiratory infections in humans and acaricidal activity in livestock and poultry.The acaricidal activity and repellency has been bioassayed in ticks and proved in the laboratory.There are concerns on sustainability of ethnobotanical use and knowledge among Dorobo.
Haphazard and indiscriminate harvesting of medicinal plants, deforestation of areas where medicinal plants are found and migration of the younger generation to urban areas jeopardizes future of ethnomedicine knowledge and use.
Efforts from stakeholders (scientists, state organs and Non-governmental organizations) should deliberate to intervene.The community should be educated on economic importance of medicinal plants.Bioassay of claimed activities particularly wound treatment, anti infective activity and acaricidal activity is being conducted and where results are prospective, commercial exploitation shall be considered.This will be beneficial both medically and economically to local communities.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The Maasail land of East Africa.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. (a) C. swynertonii tree in Simanjiro, Northern Tanzania, (b) Exudate oozing from C swynertonii after incising the bark with a knife.

Table 1 .
Dorobo local names of commonly used medicinal plants.

Table 2 .
Results of focus group discussion on beliefs and use of traditional medicines.
According to Dorobo Beliefs, it is impossible to replace traditional medicines because Herbal medicines are effective, available, and cheap.Modern medicines are not as effective, may have "bad effects" and very expensive.However some diseases do not respond to traditional herbal medicines and therefore need modern medicines Uses of C. swynertonii (see table 2 for preparation of the medicines and applications)

Table 3 .
Medicinal uses of C. swynertonii as narrated by Dorobos in FGD.