Assessment of the Diversity of Medico-Magic Knowledge on Four Herbaceous Species in Benin

Table 5

Fidelity level (FL %) of the preparations used for the main purposes for each species.

Preparation	FL (%)
	Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn.		Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass.		Momordica Charantia L.		Scoparia dulcis L.
	Malaria n = 24^†	Diabetes n = 16	Constipation n = 12	Luck n = 34	Measles n = 36	Chicken pox n = 36	Diabetes n = 14	Luck n = 31
Decoction of the entire plant for drinking	88	88	50	—	—	—	—	—
Entire plant dried, powdered, and mixed in traditional alcoholic drink “sodabi”	17	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
Entire plant infused in traditional alcoholic drink	21	13	37	—	17	17	14	—
Entire plant infused in hot water for drinking	8	25	17	—	0	0	29	—
Leaves chewed	—	—	—	82	—	—	—	16
Flowers chewed	—	—	—	62	—	—	—	—
Leaves and flowers chewed	—	—	—	6	—	—	—	—
Entire plant infusion in traditional alcoholic drink	—	—	—	24	—	—	—	—
Entire plant pounded and mixed with soap for bathing	—	—	—	24	—	—	—	13
Infusion of leaves and stems in water used as a spray	—	—	—	6	—	—	—	19
Infusion of pounded entire plant in water used as a spray	—	—	—	24	—	—	—	6
Decoction of leaves and stems in water for drinking	—	—	—	—	25	25	86	—
Leaves and stems ground in water for bathing	—	—	—	—	17	17	0	—
Plant ground in water for drinking	—	—	—	—	22	22	0	—
Plant ground in water for drinking and bathing	—	—	—	—	28	28	0	—
Leaves and stems ground in traditional alcoholic drink “sodabi”	—	—	—	—	47	47	0	—
Leaves and stems ground in natural lemon juice for drinking	—	—	—	—	11	11	0
Entire plant ground in water for bathing	—	—	—	—				10
Entire plant ground and mixed with soap for bathing	—	—	—	—				58

FL (%) = fidelity level (%). ^†Number of traders mentioning this use. Total number of traders = 36 except for S. uliginosa where n = 34.