DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2015.v03i02.017

Pages: 214-221

In the survey, an ethnobotanical inventory was conducted to document the different plant families, species and parts of plants used as remedies for fertility problems. The result showed that a total of 62 plant species from 41 families mostly of the Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Apocynaceae and Annonaceae were used in the treatment of fertility conditions such as infertility, low sperm count, threatened miscarriage and menstrual disorder. The most plant part used were leaves (37.5%), stem bark (18.1%), root (16.7%), fruit (13.9%), seed (8.3%) and aerial part (5.6%). The commonest plant species identified include Manihot esculenta Crantz, Mimosa pudica L., Zea mays L., Sida acuta L., Allium cepa L., Allium sativum L., Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Piper guineense Schum, Ocimium gratisimum L., Azidirachta indica A. Juss, Moringa oleifera Lam., and Aloe vera L. All the plants identified in this work have been used by the herbal practitioners and adjudged to be effective. Despite the survey, more research is needed in the extraction and isolation of active chemical constituents in these plants for drug production and other pharmaceutical purposes.