Current Practices towards the Use of Phytotherapy as Alternative Medicine in the Tropical Island of Mauritius

Mauritius has a rich botanical diversity and the use of phytotherapy for the treatment and/or management of various ailments is a deep-rooted tradition and still very popular among the local people. Nonetheless, few botanical remedies of Mauritius have been scientifically studied and there is currently a dearth of updated data on current practices and use of phytotherapy by the local population. The main objective of this survey was to collect data pertaining to the pattern of use of common phytotherapy by the local people (n= 100) via a survey questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. A total of 76% of the respondents correctly identified 41 plant species belonging to 25 families that were commonly utilised for the treatment and/or management of panoply of pathologies (both communicable and non-communicable diseases). The most common families used by the informants were Asteraceae (4 species), Lamiaceae (4 species), Apiaceae (3 species) and Rutaceae (3 species). Leaves were the mostly (77.6%) used plant parts. It was found that botanical remedies used by the informants were mostly consumed fresh (51.3%) and eaten raw (40.8%). The most frequently mentioned indications where botanical remedies were used include cough, influenza, fever, stomach and gastric pain, colic, indigestion and skin problems. Given the plethora of novel information obtained from the present survey, it is obvious that the local population still relies to a great extent on phytotherapy which need to be preserved and used sustainably.