article · Journal of Medicinal Plants Research
Traditional medicine forms a long-standing component of healthcare across global cultures, with botanical remedies historically documented across various regions. A literature review focused on the Arabian Peninsula identified approximately 150 medicinal plant species used in that territory for treating human ailments. In addition, botanical species frequently move beyond their native habitats into new regions. Several of the medicinal plants catalogued from the Arabian Peninsula are already present in Nigeria. This distribution likely emerged through historical cross-cultural engagements, including trans-Saharan trade networks and religious pilgrimages involving Middle Eastern communities and diverse African populations such as the Tuareg, Fulani, and Hausa peoples. The documentation links historical regional trade practices with the broader availability and shared presence of therapeutic botanical varieties across the Middle East and West Africa.
Understanding the overlap between botanical resources in the Arabian Peninsula and West Africa reveals how historical trading and pilgrimage routes shaped regional healthcare practices. Identifying shared medicinal plants assists ethnobotanical scholars and healthcare practitioners in recognising common therapeutic resources that have crossed geographic and cultural borders over centuries.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Many nations of the world have traditional medicine. Arabs were the first to distil alcohol. The existence and use of plants to treat human diseases is as old as man. Some plants have opportunity, either to be or of being transferred from their original natural environment to another. To determine whether traditional medicines were available for the treatment of diseases in Arabian Pennisula, a literature review of the plants used by Arabs was completed which led to identification of about 150 medicinal plants used in the treatment of human diseases in the Pennisula. Some of the listed plants are already available in Nigeria perhaps as a result of interaction between Arabs/Jews from Middle East and Arab-Barbas, Tuaregs, Fulanis and Hausas in Africa through trans Sahara trade and pilgrimages. Key words: Medicinal plants, Arabs, Middle East.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.5897/jmpr10.001
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
