Food plants used during traditional wrestling in Kabyè land of Togo

Food plants used during traditional wrestling in Kabyè land of Togo

Tchazou Kpatcha¹, Amegnona Agbonon^1,&, Messanvi Gbeassor¹

 

¹Laboratoire de Physiologie/Pharmacologie, Faculté des Sciences, Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur les Plantes Médicinales (CERFOPLAM), Université de Lomé BP 1515 Lomé, Togo

 

 

^&Corresponding author
Amegnona Agbonon, Laboratoire de Physiologie/Pharmacologie, Faculté des Sciences, Centre de Recherche et de Formation sur les Plantes Médicinales (CERFOPLAM), Université de Lomé BP 1515 Lomé, Togo

 

 

 

 

Medicinal plants have been an integral part of life in many communities both for food and drug [1]. In many African communities, collection and consumption of wild plant from agricultural and non-agricultural ecosystems has been documented in multiple cultural contexts, illustrating their use and importance among farming households throughout the world [2]. The evidence to date suggests that gathering by farmers occurs in various environments, ranging from intensively farmed areas, to more subsistence oriented horticultural systems, and finally in more pristine areas such as forests. Throughout worldwide and particularly in poor countries, people depend on the forest resources for several purposes like for forest products, medications, food, etc [3]. Many plants have been studied with the aims to improve the Physical performance, but only some of them have been defined to use as stimulant to recover after intense efforts and with anti-fatigue effects [4]. The plants which have shown positive results in scientific studies, with the purpose of improving physical performance, were: Rhodiola rosea [5-10], Eleutherococcus senticosus [11], Schizandra chinensis [12], Panax ginseng [13, 14]. Other plants with similar effects are Rubuscoreanus [15], Pseudosasa japónica [16, 17], Chines bamboo [18], Anoectochilus formosanus [19], Camelli sinensis [20] and Allium sativum [4, 21]. Extracts from these plants and several adaptogens complexes, as Erkang [22], also showed improvements in mental resistance, greater concentration and physical development [12, 23, 24]. The Kabyè people of Togo, mostly dependent on nature for their livelihood and they use plenty of wild plants as vegetables in their daily food. Despite the vast knowledge of medicinal plants from Togo, a few attempts have been carried out to document ethnobotanical knowledge in this locality. Some researchers have investigating the traditional pharmacopoeia and medicinal plants in different areas of the country [25-31]. Although these investigations, no studies are undertook on food plant used in perspective to increase physical performance in sportsmen. The aim of this study was to explore and identify some important plant species currently use as food or medicinal plants during traditional wrestling by young sportsmen.

 

 

Ethnobotanical data

 

The study was undertaken during three months (June- August) 2011 by conducting survey in twelve villages throughout the area of Kara. A total of 154 informants were interviewed, of which 96 were wrestlers (age 18-25 years), 10 herbalists and traditional healers (age 27-83 years) in 12 localities. Repeated queries were made to get the data conformed. The preparation of some foods item were observed, tasted and documented. Ethnobotanical data were collected using questionnaire as suggested by Jain and Goel [32]. Moreover, interviews and discussions in their local dialect to seek the following information about plants: local name, plants part(s) used. Regarding to taxonomy and phytogeographical types, plant species were systematically identified by the Department of Botany (Faculty of Sciences, University of Lome - Togo). The plant specimens were preserved at the herbarium of the faculty using technique previously described [33].

 

 

Ethnobotanical findings

 

The present investigation in Kabyès communities, recorded 57 plants species (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5) which are used currently during festivals of wrestling. Those species are enumeratedbelow along with their botanical names, plant families, local names, part used and traditional indications (anti-fatigue or antistress uses). The results obtained showed that foods plants are still widely used by the population of Kabyè land during traditional festival of wrestling. The data gathered with the informants during the discussions or during the field trips indicate the high level of knowledge of the traditional healers in this region. The botanical investigation showed that the three most represented families are Anacardiaceae (3 species), Bombaceae (3 species), Zingiberaceae (3 spieces),followed by fourteen families with two species (Alliaceace, Asteraceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Palmeae, Rubiaceae, Sterculiaceae, Solanaceae, Sapindaceae, Verbenaceae) and nineteen family with one species (Asphodeliaceae, Arecaceae, Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Combretaceae, Caricaceae, Capparaceae, Convolvulaceae, Gramineae, Leguminosae-Papilionoideae, Mimosaceae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, Meliaceae, Rutaceae, Sapotaceae, Tiliaceae, Vitaceae). The organs most used from families are the fruits (40%), leaves (30%), bark of the trunk (9%), seeds (8%), rhizomes (5%), followed by tubers (4%) and roots (4%). The flowers (3%) are very few used.

 

 

Present investigation indicates that people of Togo is blessing with marvelous diversity of leafy vegetable plants. They consume and conserve the plant species for their diverse uses. The tabulated plant species showed that the wrestlers consumed not only the dietary values but medicines also. Most of the plants, which are enlisted in the Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5 are widely used in the other parts of the world in similar or different ways. For example, Cocos nucifera L. [34] and Hibiscus sabdariffa L. [35] are widely used for cosmetic purposes. Among the different plant parts used in this study, leaves are secondary used after fruits. This result is not in accordance with those obtained by Jeyaprakash et al., [36], Mali & Bhadane [37] and other studies [38-40] who revealed that leaves are the most widely used plant parts. Kabyès land is located in the grassland savannah which favours the growth of herbs. Most societies and cultures have a sound knowledge of the biodiversity in their environments as a result of long term experimentation and innovation [41]. This may explain the use of many herbs in the traditional food and medicinal practice in this region. Fruits and leaves of plants have been reported to accumulate, antioxidants, vitamins, inulins, tannins and other alkaloids [42] which may be responsible for their medicinal properties, explaining their wide use. A large majority of the plants used as traditional food plants in the study areas or elsewhere in the region lacks nutritional evidences. Therefore, it is required that steps must be taken up to perform nutritional, phytochemical and pharmacological studies to support and validate the potential of local food plants. Many plant species have become threatened due to habitat loss as result rapid urbanization and other anthropogenic factors. It suggests that these findings be incorporated into future biodiversity management and valorization plans.

 

 

This study reveals that many plants are used as food plants in the ground during Kabyè traditional wrestling. In view of these results, the local population must be educated on the rational use of these resources to not compromise their availability. Particular attention should be devoted to scientific research on food crops.

 

 

The authors declare no competing interest.

 

 

All authors have read and agreed to the final version of this manuscript and have equally contributed to its content and to the management of the case.

 

 

Authors wished to express their gratitude to traditional and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments during plants collection.

 

 

Table 1: food plants used for their fruit during wrestling time

Table 2: food plants used for their leaves and/or fruits during wrestling time

Table 3: food plants used for their leaves, fruits and/or seeds during wrestling time

Table 4: food plants used for their leaves during wrestling time

Table 5: food plants used for their different organs during wrestling time

 

 

1. Alagesaboopathi C. Ethnobotanical Studies on useful Plants of Kanjamalai Hills of Salem district of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Arch Appl Sci Res. 2011; 3(5): 532-539. Google Scholar


2. Scoones I, Melnyk M, Pretty JN. The hidden harvest: wild foods and agricultural systems: a literature review and annotated bibliography, compiled by Ian Scoones, Mary Melnyk, Jules N. Pretty. London 1992: International Institute for Environment and Development. Google Scholar


3. Pushpangadan P. Ethnobotany in India - A Status Report All India Co-ordinated Research Project. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi.1995. Google Scholar


4. Morihara N, Nishihama T, Ushijima M, Ide N, Takeda H, Hayama M. Garlic as an antifatigue agent. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007; 51(11): 1329-1334. PubMed | Google Scholar


5. Qian EW, Ge DT, Kong SK. Salidroside Protects Human Erythrocytes against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Apoptosis. J Nat Prod. 2012; 75(4): pp 531-537. PubMed | Google Scholar


6. Parisi A, Tranchita E, Duranti G, Ciminelli E, Quaranta F, Ceci R et al. Effects of chronic Rhodiolarosea supplementation on sport performance and antioxidant capacity in trained male: preliminary results. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2010; 50(1): 57-63. PubMed | Google Scholar


7. Lee FT, Kuo TY, Liou SY, Chien CT. Chronic Rhodiolarosea extract supplementation enforces exhaustive swimming tolerance. Am J Chin Med. 2009; 37(3): 557-72.. PubMed | Google Scholar


8. Perfumi M, Mattioli L. Adaptogenic and central nervous system effects of single doses of 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside Rhodiolarosea L extract in mice. Phytother Res. 2007; 21(1): 37-43. PubMed | Google Scholar


9. Saratikov AS, Krasnov EA. Rhodiolarosea (Golden root): a valuable medicinal plant. Tomsk, Tomsk University Press. 2004; 1- 205. Google Scholar


10. De Bock K, Eijnde BO, Ramaekers M, Hespel P. Acute Rhodiolarosea intake can improve endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004; 14(3): 298-307. PubMed | Google Scholar


11. Kimura Y, Sumiyoshi M. Effects of various eleutherococcus senticosus cortex on swimming time, natural killer activity and corticosterone level in forced swimming stressed mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 2004; 95(2-3): 447-53. PubMed | Google Scholar


12. Panossian A Wikman G. Pharmacology of Schisandra chinensis Bail: An overview of Russian research and uses in medicine. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008; 118(2): 1-5. PubMed | Google Scholar


13. Ferrando A, Vila L, Voces JA, Cabral AC, Alvarez AI, Prieto JG. Effects of a standardized Panax Ginseng extract on the skeletal muscle of the rat: a comparative study in animals at rest and under exercise. Planta Med. 1999; 65(3): 239-44. PubMed | Google Scholar


14. Pieralisi G, Ripari P, Vecchiet L. Effects of a standardized ginseng extract combined with dimethylaminoethanol bitartrate, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements on physical performance during exercise. Clin Ther. 1991; 13(3): 373-382. PubMed | Google Scholar


15. Jung KA, Han D, Kwon EK, Lee CH, Kim YE. Antifatigue effect of Rubus coreanus Miquel extract in mice. J Med Food. 2007; 10(4): 689-693. PubMed | Google Scholar


16. You Y, Kim K, Heo H, Lee K, Lee J, Shim, et la. Stimulatory effects of Pseudosasa japonica leaves on exercise performance. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006; 70(10): 2532-2535. PubMed | Google Scholar


17. You Y, Kim K, Yoon HG, Lee KW, Lee J, Chun J et al. Chronic effect of ferulic acid from Pseudosasa japonica leaves on enhancing exercise activity in mice. Phytother Res. 2010; 24(10): 1508-1513. PubMed | Google Scholar


18. Zhang Y, Yao X, Bao B, Zhang Y. Anti-fatigue activity of a triterpenoid- rich extract from Chinese bamboo shavings (Caulis bamfusae in taeniam). Phytother Res. 2006; 20(10): 872-876. PubMed | Google Scholar


19. Ikeuchi M, Yamaguchi K, Nishimura T, Yazawa K. Effects of Anoectochilus formosanus on endurance capacity in mice. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol. 2005; 51(1): 40-44. PubMed | Google Scholar


20. Murase T, Haramizu S, Shimotoyodome A, Tokimitsu I, Hase T. Green tea extract improves running endurance in mice by stimulating lipid utilization during exercise. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006 Jun;290(6):R1550-6. PubMed | Google Scholar


21. Morihara N, Ushijima M & Kashimoto N, Sumioka I, Nishihama T, Minoru H et al. Aged garlic extract ameliorates physical fatigue. Biol Pharm Bull. 2006; 29(5): 962-966. PubMed | Google Scholar


22. Wu Y, Zhang Y, Wu JA, Lowell T, Gu M, Yuan CS. Effects of Erkang, a modified formulation of Chinese folk medicine Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang, on mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 1998; 61(2): 153-159. PubMed | Google Scholar


23. Olsson EMG, Von Schéele B, Panossian AG. A randomized double- blind placebo controlled parallel group study of SHR-5 extract of Rhodiolarosea roots as treatment for patients with stress related fatigue. Planta Med. 2009 Feb; 75(2): 105-12. PubMed | Google Scholar


24. Panossian A. Adaptogens: Tonic herbs for fatigue and stress. Alt Comp Ther. 2003; 9(6): 327-332. PubMed | Google Scholar


25. Pereki H. Contribution à l'inventaire des plantes utilisées en cosmétique traditionnelle au Togo M Sc. Thesis, Applied Plant Biology, University of Lome. 2009. Google Scholar


26. Batawila K, Akpavi S, Wala K, Kanda M, Vodouhe R, Akpagana K. Diversité et gestion des légumes de cueillette au Togo. AJFAND Online. 2007; 7(3): 55-68. Google Scholar


27. Batawila K, Kakou K, Koumaglo K, Gbeassor, De Foucault B, Bouchet Ph, Akpagana K. Antifungal activities of five combretaceae used in Togolese traditional medicine. Fitoterapia. 2005; 76: 264-268. Google Scholar


28. Wala K, Sinsin B, Guelly KA, Kokou K, Akpanaga K. L'arbre et sa fonction chez les Nawda de Doufelgou (Togo). Annales Botaniques de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. 2004; 3: 13-22. Google Scholar


29. Akpagana K, Bouchet P. Etat actuel des connaissances sur la flore et la végétation du Togo. Acta Bot Gall. 1994; 141(3): 367-372. PubMed | Google Scholar


30. Adjanohoun EJ, Ahyi MRA, Ake Assi L, Akpagana K, Chibon P, El-Haji A et al. Contribution aux études ethnobotaniques et floristiques au Togo, first ed. Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, première édition (ACCT). 1987. Google Scholar


31. Ern H. Die Vegetation Togos. Gliederrung, Gefährdung, Erhaltung, Willdenovia. 1979; 9: 295-312. Google Scholar


32. Jain SK, Goel AK (ed). A manual of Ethnobotany, Scientific Publishers. India journal of Traditional Knowledge. 1995; 142-153. Google Scholar


33. Mitra JN. An introduction to systematic botany and ecology. The world press pvt.Ltd, Calcutta. 1974. Google Scholar


34. Dweck AC, Medicare PB. Cosmetics and toiletries from ethnobotany part one African fragranced plants. Cosm and Toiletries. 1997; 112(1): 47-54. Google Scholar


35. Athar M, Nasir SM. Taxonomic perspective of plant species yielding vegetable oils used in cosmetics and skin care products. African Journal of Biotechnology. 2005; 4(1): 36-44. PubMed | Google Scholar


36. Jeyaprakash K, Ayyanar M, Geetha KN, Sekar T. Traditional uses of medicinal plants among the tribal people in Theni district (Western Ghats), Southern India. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2011; 1(S1): S20-S25. PubMed | Google Scholar


37. Mali PY, Bhadane VV. Ethno-medicinal wisdom of tribals of Aurangabad district (MS), India. Ind J Nat Prod Res. 2011; 2(1): 102-109. PubMed | Google Scholar


38. Focho DA, Ndam WT, Fonge BA. Medicinal plants of Aguambu-Bamumbu in the Lebialem highlands, southwest province of Cameroon. Afr J Phrm Pharmacol. 2009; 3(1):1-13. Google Scholar


39. Focho DA, Newuh, MC, Anjah MG, Nwana FA, Ambo FB. Ethnobotanical survey of trees in Fundong, Northwest Region, Cameroon. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009; 5: 17. PubMed | Google Scholar


40. Signorini MA, Piredda M, Bruschi P. Plants and traditional knowledge: an ethnobotanical investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro, Sardinia). J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009 Feb 10; 5: 6. PubMed | Google Scholar


41. Dovie BK, Witkowski ETF, Shackleton CM. Knowledge of plant resource use based on location, gender and generation. Applied Geography. 2008; 28(4): 311-322. Google Scholar


42. Okoegwale EE, Omefezi JU. Some herbal preparations among the people of Isoko clan of Delta State, Nigeria. J Appl Sc. 2001; 4: 2350-2371. PubMed | Google Scholar