Wild plants, pregnancy, and the food-medicine continuum in the southern regions of Ghana and Benin

Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Alexandra Towns, Tinde van Andel

Abstract

In West Africa, women utilize wild plant species to maintain and enhance their health throughout the duration of pregnancy. These plants are a culturally resilient and financially accessible form of nourishment for pregnant women in the region, many of whom are malnourished, yet studies that identify both the nutritional and medicinal properties of these plants are limited. The objective of this study was to analyze women's knowledge of plants consumed in pregnancy in the southern regions of Ghana and Benin from a food-medicine continuum perspective. We gathered data in two fieldwork periods in West Africa (Ghana 2010 and Benin 2011) through herbal market surveys and 56 questionnaires with women and then conducted a literature review on known properties of the plants. Ghanaian women reported consuming wild greens such as iron-rich Nephrolepis biserrata and tree barks such as protein-rich Ricinodendron heudelotii in a soup based on the African oil palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis), a source of fatty acids. In Benin, participants frequently reported ingesting plants during pregnancy in the form of herbal teas. Commonly cited species included Securidaca longipedunculata, Dichapetalum madagascariense, and Schwenckia americana. Several...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 10, 2017·Economic Botany·Tinde van Andel, Marie-Cakupewa C Fundiko
Apr 17, 2020·Journal of Evidence-based Integrative Medicine·Yuan XuRui-Jiang Wang
Aug 10, 2019·Primary Health Care Research & Development·Prince M AmegborJoseph A Braimah
Oct 21, 2018·BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth·Roselyter Monchari Riang'aJacqueline E W Broerse
Nov 8, 2017·Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine·Md Rajdoula Rafe
Feb 8, 2018·Journal of Ethnopharmacology·Casey J RouletteDouglas R Call
May 28, 2021·Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine·Patrícia Muniz de MedeirosAna Maria Mapeli

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