Medicinal Plants Used in Traditional Management of Cancer in Uganda: A Review of Ethnobotanical Surveys, Phytochemistry, and Anticancer Studies

Table 1

Plants used in the management of cancer in rural Uganda as per reports of ethnobotanical surveys.

Plant family	Local name	Botanical name	Part used	Life form	Conservation status	Mode of preparation (administration)	Cancer treated	District (s)	Author (s)
Amaranthaceae	Beetroot (Eng), no local name	Beta vulgaris L.	Blb	H	C, NE	Eat beetroot/prepare juice and drink	Blood cancer	Kampala, not specified	[31, 32]
Amaryllidaceae	Garlic (Eng), katungulusumu (Lug)	Allium sativum L.	Blb	H	C, NE	Chew/eat regularly or put in food	Lung cancer	Kampala	[31]
Annonaceae	Kitafeeri (Lug) Obwolo (Lang)	Annona muricata L.	R, L, F	T	C, NE	Decoction drunk	Not specified	NS	[33]
Apiaceae	Carrot (Eng), no local name	Daucus carota L.	R	H	C, NE	Eat raw roots regularly; used with beetroot	Blood cancer	Wakiso, Kampala	[31, 34]
Apocynaceae	Sekagya (Lug)	Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don	F	H	C, NE	Not specified	Not specified	Kampala	[31]
Asteraceae	Artemesia (Eng), no local name	Artemisia annua L.	L	H	W, NK	Infusion with rock salt	Not specified	NS	[33]
Bignoniaceae	Yago (Lang, Acholi), Edodoi (Ateso), Sifungu, Omusa (Lug), Naizungwe (Lus)	Kigelia africana Lam. Benth.	R, B	T	W, NK	Crushed in water to make a concoction; 1-2 tablespoonfuls of juice taken orally twice a day	Not specified	Tororo/Mbale	[35, 36]
Bignoniaceae	Sambya (Lug), Lusambya (Lus), Lusoola (Gis), Musambia (Rut, Ruk)	Markhamia lutea (Benth.) K. Schum.	F	T	W, NK	Not specified	Not specified	Not specified	[37, 38]
Burseraceae	Mwafu (Lug), Mubafu (Lus, Rut)	Canarium schweinfurthii Engl.	F	T	C, NE	Eat fruits	Not specified	Not specified	[39]
Cactaceae	Prickly pear cactus (Eng)	Opuntia species	L	H	C, NE	Take the juice from leaves	Prostate, stomach, colon and rectum cancer	Kampala	[31, 40, 41]
Capparaceae	Njagga (Lug), Enjaaye, Njagga (Rut), Jai (Lang)	Cannabis sativa L.	L	H	C, NE	Decoction drunk	Not specified	NS	[33]
Caricaceae	Mapapali (Lug), apapalo (Lang), papali (Ateso), Paipai (Lgb)	Carica papaya L.	L	H	C, NE	Decoction drunk	Not specified	Pallisa	[42]
Caricaceae	Not reported	Euclea natalensis A.DC.	B	T	W, NK	Decoction drunk	Prostate cancer	Mukono/Buikwe	[43]
Cyperaceae	Not reported	Cyperus alatus (Nees) F. Muell	RZ	H	W, NK	Not specified	Not specified	Not specified	[37, 38]
Fabaceae	Omugavu (Lug), Musiita (Lus), Kiluku (Kar), Itek (Lang), Ober (Acholi)	Albizia coriaria (Welw. Ex) Oliver	B	T	W, C, NE	Decoction drunk/applied as an ointment	Not specified	NS	[33]
Fabaceae	Jjirikiti (Lug), Murinzi, Kiko Omoko/Echuko, (Rut/Ruk), Oluo (Lgb), Owila kot (Lang), Muyirikiti (Lus)	Erythrina abyssinica Lam. ex DC.	B, R	T	W, NK	Decoction drunk	Not specified	NS	[33]
Lamiaceae	Mubengeya, Nfulubwa, Ffulubwa (Lug)	Vitex fischeri Gürke	L	T	W, NK	Decoction drunk	Not specified	NS	[33]
Malvaceae	Okra (Eng), Otigo (Lang), Bamia (Lus)	Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench	F	H	C, NE	Eat as food or add to food as a spice	Stomach, rectum and colon cancer	Kampala	[31]
Meliaceae	Musonko (Lug)	Lovoa trichilioides Harms	B, Sd, L	T	W, E	Crushed and applied as an ointment	Not specified	NS	[33]
Moraceae	Muwo (Lug)	Ficus dawei Hutch.	B	T	W, NK	Decoction drunk	Breast cancer	Mukono/Buikwe	[43]
Moraceae	Mugaire (Lus)	Ficus natalensis Hochst.	R	T	W, NE	Not specified	Cancerous wounds	Iganga	[44]
Moringaceae	Moringa (Eng), molinga (Lug)	Moringa oleifera Lam.	L, R, B, Sd	H	C, NE	Chew/make juices	Prostate, lung, colon and rectal cancers	Kampala	[31, 45]
Oxalidaceae	Kajjampuni (Lug), Kaanhunu (Lus), Otyer (Lang)	Oxalis corniculata L.	L	H	W, E	Pound, dry and put on the wound	Skin and uterine cancer	Mukono/Buikwe, Iganga	[43, 44]
Poaceae	Akisube (Ateso), Kisubi (Lug), Lum cai (Lang)	Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf	L	H	C, NE	Decoction drunk	Not specified	Pallisa	[42]
Rosaceae	African cherry (Eng), Ngwabuzito (Lug), Ntaseesa, Ngwabuzito (Rut), Sirumandu (Gis)	Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman (Pygeum africanum)	L, B	T	W, OD	Decoction drunk/tea	Prostate cancer	NS, Not specified, Mukono/Buikwe, Not specified	[23, 33, 43, 46]
Rutaceae	Omuqugwa (Ateso), Amacunga (Lang)	Citrus reticulata Blanco, 1837	R	T	C, NE	Not specified	Not specified	Pallisa	[42]
Rutaceae	Ntale ya ddungu (Lug), Eusuk (Ateso), Agodaman (Lang), Rukuts (Kar), Outiku (Lugb)	Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl.	R	T	W, NK	Pound, add water & drink	Cervical cancer	Mukono/Buikwe	[43]
Sapindaceae	Mukuzanyana (Lug), Nkuzanyana (Rut)	Blighia unijugata Baker	B	T	W, NK	Decoction drunk	Cervical cancer	Mukono/Buikwe	[43]
Solanaceae	Kamulali (Lug), Kamularu (Lang)	Capsicum frutescens L.	F	H	W, C	Food condiment	Prostate cancer	Mukono/Buikwe	[43]

Languages: Eng: English, Gis: Lugishu, Lgb: Lugbara, Lug: Luganda, Lus: Lusoga, Lang: Lango, Kar: Ngakarimojong, Rut: Rutoro, Ruk: Rukiga. Parts used: B: bark, Blb: bulb, F: fruit, L: leaf, R: root, RZ: rhizome, Sd: seed. Growth habit: H: herb, T: tree. Conservation status: C: cultivated, W: grows in the wild/forest, E: endangered, NE: not endangered, OD: out of danger, NK: not known. Districts: NS: this study was done in Arua, Dokolo, Mbale, Iganga, Bushenyi, Rakai, Luwero, and Kaabong districts of Uganda. Species not specified. Opuntia hybridizes readily between species.