Saudi Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SJMPS)
Volume-12 | Issue-05 | 289-305
Original Research Article
Assessment of the Knowledge and Medicinal Plants Used Against COVID-19 by the Local Population of the East Region of Cameroon
Seraphine Ebenye Mokake, Kanida Bekoumie Youmbi, Patrice Brice Mvogo Ottou, Mark Litute Lyonga, Natasha Nana Afiong, Gweth Rene, Hanameel Donfack Kana, George Bindeh Chuyong, Paxie Chirwa
Published : May 8, 2026
Abstract
The population of the East Region of Cameroon lives around the forest and shares precious knowledge about the medicinal plants they possess against diseases such as COVID-19 as the role of ethno-medicine may have favored resilience against the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa. The objective of this study was to identify medicinal plants used against Covid-19 by the local population through their knowledge of COVID-19 in the East Region of Cameroon. The sociodemographic profile, information on COVID-19, the medicinal plants used against COVID-19 and the symptoms were determined. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted from November 2025 to February 2026 across twenty-five (25) villages on 500 respondents. Demographically, a large proportion of the population were men (61.6%), most of whom were non-workers (70.2%), with a dominant age group of 41 to 50 years (35%). Seventy-one percent of the population claimed to know the means of transmission, with "shaking hands with an infected person" being the most cited (41%). Meanwhile, 67% claimed to know the symptoms, with "cough" being the most mentioned (47.4%). Regarding prevention, 68.4% knew of modern prevention methods, with 24.4% favoring social distancing. 52% of the surveyed population stated they had not contracted Covid-19 (with or without testing confirmation). Majority of the population preferred traditional medicine for their health care but only 20.6% of the respondents mentioned traditional treatments against COVID-19 which may be due to the fact that only 28.6% of the respondents had a good knowledge about COVID-19. Alstonia boonei De Wild. emerged as the most used medicinal plant in traditional Covid-19 treatments by the local population, with a citation frequency of 9%. This study sheds light on how local populations perceive, adopt, and adhere to public health crisis measures.