Ethnomedical survey of plants used for the management of HIV and AIDS-related conditions in Mbulu District, Tanzania

The aim of this Study was to document medicinal plants used in the management of HIV and AIDS-related conditions in Mbulu District. An ethnomedical survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. The main HIV and AIDS-related conditions considered during this study were; cough, frequent fevers, diarrhea, weight loss, oral thrush, genital warts, candidiasis, abscesses, skin rashes, shingles and venereal diseases. Literature survey was also carried out to compile supplementary data on ethnomedical used and pharmacological activities of the respective plants. Thirty seven plant species from 23 families were reported. The plant families with the highest number of documented species were Acanthaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Compositae and Verbanaceae with three species each. Literature information on the 37 reported plant species showed that, 23 plants could be linked to supporting data on ethnomedical uses, 23 were related to biological activity and 12 had been reported to display varying activities against HIV-1. Sixteen identified medicinal plants recorded new ethnomedical uses related to HIV and AIDS-related conditions, while 8 and 16% of the plant species did not have any previously reported ethnomedical uses or pharmacological activities, respectively. Key words: Medicinal plants, indigenous knowledge, HIV and AIDS-related conditions.