Medicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Diarrhoeal Related Diseases in Ethiopia

Table 1

Ethiopian medicinal plants used for treatment of diarrhoeal diseases. Description of data. Vernacular name (Or: Afaan Oromo; S: Somali; Ku: Kunama; T: Tigre, Am: Amharic; M: Maale; Me: Meinth; Sh: Shinasha; G: Gumuz; Si: Sidama) and parts used (L: leaf; B: bark; F: fruit; R: root; Bu: bulb; Fl: flower; S: seed; St: stem; Wp: whole plant). Cultivation (Cu: cultivated; Nc: not cultivated). An asterisk () indicates data collected from traditional healers.

Scientific name	Vernacular name	Family	Parts used, preparation, and application	References
Abutilon longicuspe Hochst.	Polo (M)	Malvaceae	L	[20]
Acacia albida Del.	Gerbi (Or, S)	Fabaceae	B, F, and L drunk orally (concoction); B crushed, homogenized in water, and drunk	[21]​; [22]
Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne	Tadacha, Dhadhacha (Or)	Fabaceae	Infusion L drunk orally	[21]
Acalypha villicaulis A. Rich.	Zibute-kemun (Me)	Euphorbiaceae	R	[23]
Achyranthes aspera L.	Maxxannee (Or)	Amaranthaceae	The L is crushed and mixed with water	[24]
Agave sisalana Perrine	Angolaga (Ku) Eka (T)	Agavaceae	Chewing the internal (white) part of the R and swallowing the solution	[25]
Ajuga alba Robyns	Shai Shar (Aari)	Lamiaceae	L; Crushed fresh L homogenized	[18, 20]
Ajuga integrifolia Buch. Ham.	Zibute-kurijun (Me); Amaro (Am)	Lamiaceae	R; Decoction of the fresh L is drunk	[23, 26]
Ajuga leucantha Lukhoba	Shai sher (Aari)	Lamiaceae	L	[20]
Allium sativum L.	Nech-shinkurt (Am)	Alliaceae	The bu are chewed and swallowed	[26]
Amaranthus caudatus L.	Bahr tef (Am) Iyasu (Or)	Amaranthaceae	Squeeze the L and make a juice	[27–29]
Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.); Guill. & Perr.	Hanse (T); Sigaa (Am)	Combretaceae	B and L; Fr are crushed in water and one cup is taken	[30]​; [31]
Aristolochia bracteolata RETZ.	Digel (Berta)	Aristolochiaceae	S grounded, dispersed in water, and drunk	[32]
Artemisia rehan L.	Arity (Am)	Asteraceae	Boil L with water and drink the hot decoction	[27]
Asystasia guttata Brummitt		Acanthaceae	R	[33]
Barleria argentea Balf. fil.		Acanthaceae	R or L	[33]
Bersama abyssinica Fresen.		Melianthaceae	Boil and drink the decoction (L)	[33]
Bidens pilosa L.	Hachenti (M)	Asteraceae	R	[20]
Boscia angustifolia A. Rich.	Vinna (Ku), Kermed (T)	Capparidaceae	Chewing	[25]
Boswellia papyrifera (Del.) Hochst.	Meker (Am)	Burseraceae	B	[30]
Brucea antidysenterica J. F. Mill.	Wagnos (Am); Qomanyo (Or)	Simaroubaceae	Juice of crushed bark taken; R powdered and mixed in water and drunk; F powder mixed with honey	[34]​; [9]​; [35, 36]
Cadaba rotundifolia Forssk.		Capparaceae	Fresh L crushed and mixed with water to drink the concoction	[37]
Calpurnia aurea (Ait.) Benth.	Ceekataa (Or); Digita (Sh, Am); Hitsawts (T); Kayneka/Digita (Aari); Zikita (Am)	Fabaceae	Fresh L crushed, boiled, and drunk; Young shoot homogenized in water, decanted, and then drunk with honey; The L of the young shoots from seven plants of Digita rubbed in the hands; Fresh L soaked in water and taken orally; S grinded, mixed with milk product locally called mancheba, and drink; R; F crushed, pounded, and drunk; L is crushed, and the fluid is drunk; Grind the S and eat after pounding with honey	[22, 23]​; [28]​; [38]; [39]; [40]; [20]; [41]; [42]; [43]; [35]
Capparis tomentosa Lam.	Gaho (Sidama)	Capparaceae	L	[44]
Carica papaya L.	Paapaayee (Or)	Caricaceae	S crushed and swallowed	[22]
Carissa spinarum L.	Mitmita (Am)	Apocynaceae	Crush and squeeze the R	[31, 33]
Cissampelos mucronata A. Rich.	Balari (M); Siyapewa (G)	Menispermaceae	R, crushed and squeezed	[20, 31]
Cissampelos pareira L.	Abujelajil (G)	Menispermaceae	R, grounded and drunk with water	[32]
Citrus aurantifolia Swingle		Rutaceae		[45]
Citrus limon (L.) Burm. fil.	Loomii (Or) ​; Lendenan (S)	Rutaceae	Juice is drunk with pounded young L of Cordia africana​; The fruit is squeezed and the juice drunk	[28], [46]​; [47]
Clematis hirsuta Guill. & Perr.		Ranunculaceae	Crush the R, homogenize with cold water and drink	[33]
Clematis simensis Fresen.	Hida Fiitii (Or)	Ranunculaceae	L are mixed in water and the solution is taken	[28]
Cleome gynandra L.		Capparidaceae	Roasted S of the plant eaten	[18]
Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst) Vatke	Maraasisaa (Or); Misirich (Am)	Lamiaceae	R powder solution taken orally; L	[48]​; [23]
Clutia lanceolata Forssk.	Fiyelefej (Am)	Euphorbiaceae	Crush the R and give with water	[23, 43]
Coffea arabica L.	Buna (Or); Bunna (Am)	Rubiaceae	Roast the S, pounded and mixed with honey; The roasted S is eaten or drunk in to; empty stomach for 2-3 days; Roasted powder taken with honey in empty stomach; The dried coffee bean powdered and mixed with honey	[29]​; [49]; [50]; [24]; [9, 26, 43, 51]
Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.	Goodarree (Or, G)	Araceae	Crush dry/fresh concocted with Zingiber officinale Rhizome is taken with coffee	[7], [52]
Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq.	Qilqilia (M)	Asteraceae	L	[23]
Conyza pyrrhopappa A. Rich.	Donya (Dawaro)	Asteraceae	Crushed decocted L taken orally	[53]
Cordia africana Lam.	Wanza (Am, Sh); Waddeessa (Or); Awhi (T); Banja (G)	Boraginaceae	Pound and squeeze the L by adding drop of water and drink the concoction by a cup of coffee.; F (5–7) are eaten daily in the morning.; B is crushed, homogenized in water, and drunk.; Crush the L and drink it alone or by mixing it with boiled coffee; R bark is crushed, squeezed with water, and given to drink	[37]​; [54]​; [55]​; [28, 31]​; [40]
Craterostigma plantagineum Hochst.	Roba Enjire (Or)	Scrophulariaceae	R or L concoction taken orally	[56]
Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile	Bakkanniisa (Or); Bissana (Am)	Euphorbiaceae	Dried L are powdered and mixed with hot water, and the mixture is taken orally; L are eaten with wat	[55]​; [35]
Cucumis dipsaceus Ehrenb.	Hafaflo (T)	Cucurbitaceae	R	[30]
Delphinium dasycaulon Fresen.	Merbba (Ku)	Fabaceae	The R and L are pounded and drink a bottle cup of the juice in the morning	[25]
Dodonaea angustifolia L. f.		Sapindaceae	Boil the R and drink the decoction	[33]
Dorstenia barnimiana Schwienf.	Work Bemeda (Am)	Moraceae	R powder mixed with honey and fermented for seven days. Then, taken orally in the morning until cured	[35]
Echinops cacrocheatus L.	Keberich (Am)	Asteraceae	Pieces of St pounded, and the powder is taken	[57]
Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.	Dagusa (Am)	Poaceae	S	[58]
Embelia schimperi Vatke		Myrsinaceae	Crush the F, homogenize with cold water and drink	[33]
Entada abyssinica A. Rich.	Sesenaffa (ku)	Fabaceae	Pounding the R and drink a bottle cup of the juice in the morning	[25]
Ensete ventricosum (Welw.)	Wassa (Kocho)	Musaceae	Rhizome fermented, cooked and eaten	[59]
Erythrina brucei Lam. Ex DC.		Fabaceae	Fresh inner B crushed and homogenized in water	[18]
Euphorbia candelabrum Tremaut; ex Kotschy	Karicho (Si)	Euphorbiaceae	L	[44]
Fagaropsis angolensis (Engl.) Dale	Godicho (Si)	Rutaceae	L and Fl	[44]
Ficus sycomorus Forssk.	Shola (Am); Fuka (G)	Moraceae	B juice is given orally; R is crushed, soaked in water, and taken	[60]​; [31]
Ficus thonningii Blume.	Chibha (Am)	Moraceae	Chewing the R	[35]
Fuelugge virosa (Willd.) Voigt.	Weela (G)	Euphorbiaceae	R is crushed and squeezed and one cup is taken	[31]
Gossypium barbadense L.	Tite (Am)	Malvaceae	L powdered and mixed with water	[41]
Grewia villosa Willd.	Bururi (K)	Malvaceae	Juice of L is taken orally.	[55]
Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.	Nuugii (Or)	Asteraceae	Fried S, finely pounded and added as an ingredient to any concoction from medicinal plants	[28]
Heracleum abyssinicum C.; Norman	Ululee (Or)	Apiaceae	R is pounded together with R of Thalictrum rhyncocarpum	[28]
Hibiscus luduwigii Eckl. and. Zeyh.		Malvaceae	R	[36]
Hoslundia opposita Vahl	Dumdumach (Me)	Lamiaceae	R	[19]
Hypericum quartinianum A. Rich.		Hypericaceae	L extracted with cold water	[61]
Hypoestes forsskaolii (Vahl) R. Br.	Busino (M)	Acanthaceae	R	[20]
Indigofera spicata Forssk.	Wesfat deshe (Aari)	Fabaceae	WP; Crushed fresh R homogenized in water	[22]​; [18, 23, 36]
Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker-Gawl.	Lago (M)	Convolvulaceae	L	[20]
Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth		Convolvulaceae	Crushed fresh L homogenized in water	[18]
Kosteletzkya adoensis (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Mast.	Wari Beshe (M)	Malvaceae	L	[20]
Lagenaria siceraria​; (Molina)​; Standl.	Busino (M)	Cucurbitaceae	L chopped and ground and drink the filtrate	[62]
Lantana camara L.	Yewef kollo (Am)	Verbenaceae	Dry St powder mixed with water and taken orally	[7], [52]
Lantana ukambensis Verdc.		Verbenaceae	Crushed fresh L homogenized in water	[18]
Leonotis ocymifolia (Burm. F.) Iwarsson	Yeferes zeng (Am)	Lamiaceae	Dried L and Fr powder mixed with honey is given orally	[39]
Lepidium sativum L.	Feecoo (Or); Shinfae (T); Fetto (Am)	Brassicaceae	S and Bu of Allium sativum are pounded; Grind the S, mix with honey, and eat; Mix the S powder in water and drink; Grind the S and mix with honey and swallow	[63]​; [25]​; [41]; [30]; [26]
Leucas abyssinica Briq.	Kirikisa (Dawaro)	Lamiaceae	Crushed and mixed with water and taken	[53]
Leucas deflexa Hook. f.	Qechemen (B); Qilqilich (Me); Mezi (Sheko)	Lamiaceae	L	[23]​; [19]; [64]
Linum usitatissimum L.	Telba (Am)	Linaceae	The water solution of roasted and powdered S is drunk in an empty stomach	[26]
Lippia javanica Spreng.		Verbenaceae	R	[36]
Maesa lanceolata Forssk.	Gowacho (Si)	Meliaceae	L and B	[33, 44]
Maytenus senegalensis (Lam.)	Kbkib (T)	Celastraceae	Crush the L, mix it with milk, and drink	[40]
Melia azedarach L.	Kiniinii (Or)	Meliaceae	B crushed, homogenized in water and drunk	[22]
Momordica charantia L.		Cucurbitaceae	L and R ground well and mixed with milk and taken orally	[62]
Momordica foetida Schumach.	Yekurahareg (Am)	Cucurbitaceae	Pound the L, squeeze, and then drink	[36]
Musa paradisiaca L.	Musi (Aari)	Musaceae	F	[20]
Myrtus communis L.	Ades (Am)	Myrtaceae	Juice of L is taken orally in the morning	[35]
Nigella sativa L.	Tikur azmud (Am)	Ranunculaceae	Leaves are pounded, and juice is prepared; Concoct dry pounded seed	[57]​; [18]
Nicotiana tabacum L.	Tombowae (K)	Solanaceae	Crushed, decocted, and concocted fresh; leaves are taken, and powdered roots are; mixed with water or milk and drunk	[55]
Ocimum forskolei Benth.	Gurdarindo (M)	Lamiaceae	WP	[20]
Ocimum lamiifolium Hochst. ex. Benth.	Damakese (Am)	Lamiaceae	Fresh L are pounded in water and the juice is drunk; Crushed fresh L homogenized in water	[26]​; [25]
Olinia rochetiana A. Juss.		Oliniaceae	Boil the R and drink the decoction	[33]
Oryza sativa L.	Ruz (Am)	Poaceae	One-half of a cup of coffee of squeezed L is drunk	[26]
Otostegia fruticosa Sebald		Lamiaceae		[65]
Otostegia integrifolia (Forssk.)		Lamiaceae	The L is crushed and squeezed then the concoction is drunk	[65]
Otostegia tomentosa A. Rich.		Lamiaceae	The L is pounded and squeezed and drunk	[65]
Oxalis radicosa A. Rich.	Solcarindo (M),; Kinsa kins (Aaari)	Oxalidaceae	L	[20]
Pavonia urens Cav.	Maxxannee (Or)	Malvaceae	R is chewed with salt and swallowed	[63]
Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers	Gaina deshe (Aari)	Rubiaceae	R; L	[20]​; [23]
Persea americana Mill.	Abukato (Si)	Lauraceae	Dried F crushed, powdered, mixed with coffee and Drink	[59]
Phragmanlhera Macrosolen (A. Rich) ined.	Diigaluu ceekaa (Or)	Loranthaceae	L is pounded and mixed with water	[63]
Plantago lanceolata L.	Qorxobbii (Or)	Plantaginaceae	R is pounded with l of Calpurnia aurea and drunk with honey	[28]
Plectranthus cylindraceus Benth.			Crushed and squeezed L is mixed in boiled cup of coffee and then the decoction is drunk	[65]
Plectranthus longipes Baker	Solelo (M)	Lamiaceae	Wp	[20]
Plumbago zeylanica L.	Aftuh (Am)	Plumbaginaceae	R	[30]
Podocarpus falcatus C.N. Page	Birbirsa	Podocarpaceae	Chop the L, and drinking one coffee cup 2 times a day for three days	[66]
Pouzolzia parasitica (Forssk.); Schweinf.	Dirba	Urticaceae	L and R crushed together and infusion is taken oral	[56]
Pseudocedrela kotschyi (Schweinf.) Harms	Aduruba	Meliaceae	B eaten as it is	[32]
Pterolobium stellatum (Forssk) Brenan	Qudu	Fabaceae	R boiled in water and drunk	[32]
Punica granatum L.	Roomaan (Or)	Lythraceae	L boiled and drunk	[22]
Pycnostachys abyssinica Fresen.	Anchip (M)	Lamiaceae	L	[20]
Rhus natalensis Krauss	Kubri (M)	Anacardiaceae	L	[20]
Rubia cordifolia L.	Anqis (Or)	Rubiaceae	Powder the R and drink the decoction	[61]
Rubus steudneri Schweinf.	Gormach (Me)	Rosaceae	R; Boil the R and drink the decoction	[19]​; [33]
Rumex nepalensis Spreng.	Germach (B); Tult (Am); Girshu (Sheko)	Polygonaceae	Crush R, mix with water, and drink; Crush the R, mix with water, and then drink juice; R and L	[23, 34]​; [27, 64]; [43]
Rumex nervosus Vahl.	Dhangaggoo (Or); Embuacho (Am)	Polygonaceae	L crushed, homogenized in water, and drunk; R powdered and mixed with melted butter	[23]​; [67]
Salvia acuminata Ruiz & Pav.	Anchino (M)	Lamiaceae	Chewing the L	[61]
Salvia nilotica Juss. ex Jacq.	Shokoksaa (Or)	Lamiaceae	The f juice is taken orally	[55]
Sapium ellipticum (Hochst)		Euphorbiaceae	Decocted fresh L mixed with butter to drink	[18]
Schinus molle L.	Tikur berbere (Am)	Anacardiaceae	Crush, the L filter and drink the fluid	[39, 68]
Senna didymobotry (Freser); Irowin & Barinely	Sanamakii (Or)	Fabaceae	L are pounded, and juice is prepared	[57]
Senna obtusifolia (L.) Irwin and Barneby		Fabaceae	S crushed, homogenized in water, and drunk	[22]
Senna singueana (Delile) Lock	Karhaleko (M)	Fabaceae	R	[20]
Solanacio gigas (Vatke) Jeffrey	Dilluu araba (Or)	Asteraceae	L and Fl are pounded together and taken	[28]
Solanum giganteum Jacq.		Solanaceae	R	[36]
Solanum nigum L.	Awut (Am)	Solanaceae	Crush the L, chew, and then swallow the juice	[43]
Sorghum bicolor (L.) moench	Bisingaa (Or); Zengada (Am)	Poaceae	The S is powdered and made into a porridge; S	[69]​; [58]
Sporobolus pyramidalis Beauv.	Gic’igiliya (Dawro)	Poaceae	L powdered and mixed with the L of Conyza pyrrhopappa and taken	[53]
Stereospermum kunthianum Cham.	Zana (Ag), Wahsinte (Am); Estegne eyo (Berta)	Bignoniaceae	R grounded, dispersed in water, and drunk; R is crushed, diluted in water, and one cup is taken	[54]​; [31]
Stylosanthes fruticosa (Retz.); Alston	Dino desho (M)	Fabaceae	L	[20]
Syzygium guineenses (Willd.) DC.	Dokima (Am); Diwa (G)	Myrtaceae	Decoction of B powder; St bark is crushed, squeezed and taken orally	[69]​; [31, 43]
Tagetes minuta L.	Kawato (M); Hada Gola (Am)	Asteraceae	L decocted	[62]​; [70]
Tamarindus indica L.	Koriya (Dawro)	Fabaceae	F crushed and mixed with water and taken orally	[53]
Terminalia brownii Fresen.	Weyba (T); Rukessa (Si)	Combretaceae	B and L; L	[30]; [44]
Termnalia schimperiana Hochst	Biguha (G)	Combretaceae	B is crushed, diluted in water, and taken orally	[31]
Thalictrum rhynchocarpon Quart.		Ranunculaceae	Boil the R and drink the decoction; Crushed fresh L homogenized in water	[33]​; [18]
Tragia mitis ex A. Rich.		Euphorbiaceae	Crushed R, mixed with water and sugar	[70]
Trigonella foenum-graecum L.	Abeake (T)	Boraginaceae	Add the s into boiled water which contain Zingiber officinale, allow it to boil for a while, and then drink a cup of the decoction	[25]
Verbascum sinaiticum Benth.	Gurraharree (Or); Kutitina (Am); Daba Keded (Am)	Scrophulariaceae	L crushed, homogenized in water, and drunk; Crush the R and drink with water; Juice of R is taken orally	[22]​; [43]; [35]; [36]
Verbena officinalis L.	Atuch (Am); Q/albaatii (Or)	Verbenaceae	R powder mix with water; Decant from pounded root is drunk; The crushed R is left in water for some time and then the extract is drunk	[54]​; [67]; [28]; [26]; [24]
Vernonia amygdalina Del.	Eebicha (Or, G)	Asteraceae	Crush the L and mix with little water and then drink for five days; Crush the L, pound and mix with little water and then drink for five days	[52]​; [69]; [7]​; [33]
Vernonia auriculifera Hiem	Aegidim (G)	Asteraceae	R is crushed and squeezed and one cup is taken	[31]
Viscum tuberculatum A. Rich	Dhigri (S)	Viscaceae	R grounded, boiled with water, and drunk	[47]
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.	Gizawa (Am)	Solanaceae	Infusion powder of 3 L mixed with water	[71]
Ximenia americana L.	Feya (Gumuz)	Olacaceae	Crushing and squeezing the R	[31]
Zehneria scabra (Linn. f.) Sond.	Hidda bofaa (Or); Hidda reffaa (Or); Hareg resa (Am); Areg resa (Am)	Cucurbitaceae	L are pounded, and juice is prepared; The juice of fresh squeezed L is drunk; Crush the L and drink; The juice of fresh squeezed leaves is drunk	[57]​; [69]; [43]; [26]; [33]
Zingiber officinale Roscoe.	Zingibil (T, Am)	Zingiberaceae	Chew and swallow the fluid	[40]​; [33]
Zinnia peruviana L		Asteraceae	R	[36]
Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.	Amurusam (Berta)	Rhamnaceae	S is ground, dispersed in water, and drunk	[32]
Ziziphus spinachristi (L.) Desf.	Kurkura (Or); Gob, Geb (S); Sirra	Rhamnaceae	The concoction of L drunk orally; St bark is crushed, soaked in water, and filtered	[21]​; [31]