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Traditional use of medicinal plants among the Barti tribe community in Fangoga area, Sennar State, Sudan

In Sudan, traditional healing practice by herbalists is prevalent among tribes in remote areas that are deprived of modern health care. Barti tribe is a small Arabic speaking community moved from North Darfur state in early dry periods to the Fangoga area in Sennar State. In this study ethnobotanical survey on traditional medicinal plants used by this community was conducted in July 2016. The data was collected from a total of 85 informants with a mean age of 62 years using semi-structured questionnaires. Informants were asked about the plants and the harvested parts they use to cure the prevalent diseases, methods of preparing the herbal remedy, and administrative details. The study documented 53 medicinal plants used to treat various ailments. The most utilized plant families were Leguminosae followed by Apocynaceae and Malvaceae. Based on plant habits, herbs recorded the highest proportion of the medicinal plants (36%) followed by trees (34%) and shrubs (30%). Of the total plants 77% are wild and 23% are cultivated species. Commonly treated diseases are jaundice, rheumatic pain, stomach pain, and snake bites. Further pharmacological and phytochemical research studies are needed to identify active components in the reported plants, and their efficiency to cure the diseases.


INTRODUCTION
Ethnobotanical studies are often useful in revealing plants used in herbal medicine by locals in remote rural areas in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 80% of the world's people depend on traditional medicine as an important component of their health care system (Cotton 1997) and more than 50,000 of the world flowering plants are used for medicinal purposes (Schippmann et al. 2002). In Sudan, the majority of the tribal people are nomads. They have simple and effective remedies to treat common ailments. The main source of their traditional remedies is mainly plants. It is usually undertaken by knowledgeable members of the community who transmit the use of medicinal plants and their properties orally to their younger generations. To preserve this valuable knowledge, the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute (MAPRI) has taken the initiative to document valuable ethnobotanical data and traditional knowledge. MAPRI has published several studies on the ethnomedicine of different places in Sudan. These documentations cover Erkowit, Nuba Mountains, White Nile Province, Kordofan, Khartoum State, and Ingassana Areas (El Ghazali 1986, El Ghazali et al. 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003. Musa et al. (2011) documented the medicinal plants used to cure disease by locals in the Blue Nile State, south-eastern Sudan where rural population displacement due to war and dam constructions on the. Madani et al. (2014) documented the medicinal plants in Gaab El Lagia oasis, West Dongola in northern Sudan where the area is affected by the agricultural activities of El kababeesh pastoral tribe recently settled and turned to agriculture and increasingly clear land for this purpose. This study represents the first documentation of the indigenous knowledge on utilization of medicinal plants by the Barti tribe community who suffer from drought in western Sudan and moved from Milleet area to Fangoga area in Sennar State

Study area
Fangoga area (13º 25.396′ N, 33º 18.658′ E) is located in Sennar state, about 35 km west of Sennar town (Fig. 1). It is a small community of 6500, inhabited by Arabic speaking Barti tribe who moved to the area from Milleet (50 km North of Alfashir in North Darfur) before 1956. The main occupation in this area is farming growing sorghum and sesame. The area has no industrial establishment. The maximum annual rainfall does not exceed 600 mm with rainiest months being July, August and September. The maximum average temperature never exceeds 43°C while the minimum does not drop below 12°C with the hottest months being April, May and June. (Source: Sudan Meteorological Corporation).The area is located in a vegetation zone known as the low rainfall savannah in which the annual herbs are represented mainly by members of the family Poaceae and tree species are dominated mainly by Acacia spp.

Ethnobotanical data collection
Ethnobotanical information was obtained in July 2016 by interviewing local people using a semi-structured questionnaires and from group discussions organised at informants' homes with the assistance of some local people known to the authors. Interviews were conducted among randomly selected people in the local market while informants in the group discussion include some traditional healers, herbal medicine practitioners, and old men and women. Documentation was taken from a total of 85 informants. Ages of the informants ranged from 45 to 80 years with a mean of 62 years. Informants were asked about the medicinal plants and the harvested parts they use to cure the prevalent diseases, methods of preparing the herbal remedy, and administrative details.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This study represents the ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people in the tribal community Barti in Fangoga area. The study records 53 plant species used to treat various ailments table 1. The most utilized plant families were Leguminosae (13 species) followed by Apocynaceae (four species) and Malvaceae (three species). The most used plants belong to the genus Acacia. Based on plant habits, herbs recorded the highest proportion of the medicinal plants (36%) followed by trees (34%) and shrubs (30%). 77% of the medicinal plants grow naturally in the study area while 23% were cultivated species (Fig. 2). Using of plant materials from natural resources could negatively affect the density and diversity of these medicinal plants. Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Trigonella foenum-graecum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill. and Coriandrum sativum L. were the most cultivated species used in Fangoga area. They were used to treat digestive disorder and respiratory infections. . The most plant parts used for the treatment of various ailments were fruits and leaves (Fig. 3). Commonly treated diseases were jaundice, rheumatic pain, stomach pain, and snake bites. Leaf and fruit decoction were the common preparation method of the remedies. It is observed that using of fruit decoction of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile were reported by other authors as an effective remedy to treat cough, sour throat, and fever in different areas in Sudan (El Ghazali 1986, El Ghazali et al. 1987, Musa et al. 2011, Madani et al. 2014.

CONCLUSION
In Sudan most of the indigenous unwritten cultural knowledge on usage of medicinal plants has been lost owing to migration and habitat changes. This paper contributes on documentation of medicinal plants used by Barti tribe community which moved from North Darfur state in early dry periods to Fangoga area in Sennar State. Results have shown that 53 medicinal plants used by traditional healers, herbal medicine practitioners, and old men and women to treat various ailments. 77% of which are wild. The most utilized plant families were Leguminosae followed by Apocynaceae and Malvaceae. The highest proportion of the medicinal plants (36%) are herbs followed by trees (34%) and shrubs (30%). Common treated diseases are jaundice, rheumatic pain, stomach pain, and snake bites. Further pharmacological and phytochemical research studies are recommended to identify active components in the reported plants, and their efficiency to cure the diseases.