African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Vol. 3(4). pp.222-226, May, 2009 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp ISSN 1996-0816 © 2009 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Ethnophytotherapeutic information for the treatment of high blood pressure among the people of Ilugun, Ilugun area of Ogun State, south-west Nigeria Lawal, I. O. 1* , Uzokwe, N. E. 1 , Ladipo, D. O. 2 , Asinwa, I. O. 1 and Igboanugo, A. B. I. 1 1 Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan. P. M. B. 5054, Jericho hill, Ibadan, Nigeria 2 Centre for Renewable Natural Resources, Research and Development (CENRAD), Ibadan, Nigeria. Accepted 13 March, 2009 Ethnophytotherapeutic information includes the contribution of indigenous knowledge using plants to provide native remedies for varieties of ailment. In African, various species of plants are used in the traditional medicine for the cure of chronic cardio-vascular diseases, where hypertension is one of them. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain enthnomedical information on the treatment of high blood pressure in the Yoruba speaking communities of Ilugun area of Ogun State. Nine species: (Ficus exasperata, Heliotropium indicum, Afromomum melegueta, Justicia schimperi, Persea americana, Talinium triangulare, Afraegle paniculatum, Newboldia laevis and Chenopodium ambrosioides) from different families were identified as being used for curing high blood pressure. Plants are documented for further research on chemical composition and active ingredients contained in these plant parts. Key words: Ethnophytotherapy, herbal treatment, high blood pressure, Ilugun people, traditional medicines. INTRODUCTION High blood pressure was defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Society of Hypertension guideline as a systolic blood pressure (SB P)  140 mm/Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP)  90 mm/Hg or being on treatment (WHO/ISH, 2003 ). Stage I (mild hypertension) was defined as a SBP between 140- 150 or DBP between 90-99 mm/Hg. Stage II (moderate hypertension) as a SBP between 160-176 mm/Hg or DBP between 90-99 mm/Hg. Stage III (severe hypertension) as a SBP  180 or DBP > 110 mm/Hg (WHO/ISH, 2003 ). Many people have hypertension without knowing it. Hypertension remains the most threatening risk factor, with prevalence ranging between 15 and 30 % in adults (Cooper et al., 1998). A number of studies revealing the prevalence of hypertension in populations of West African origin have been reported (Cooper et al., 1997). Erhun et al. (2005) observed in a worksite study of hypertension prevalence carried out in a university community in Southwestern Nigeria that overall crude prevalence was 21% in the respondent population. Adedoyin et al. (2008) also reported a prevalence of 36.6% in Nigeria. Studies *Corresponding author. E-mail: ibroodula@yahoo.com. from South Africa have shown that 32.1% of men and 18.9% of women over 30 years had a 20% or higher risk of developing CVD in the next ten years (Nel et al., 2005). Ilugun people of Ogun State are distinct Yoruba indi- genes of Nigeria. They are found in Odeda Local Govern- ment as their base according to their historical back-gro- und, while some of their tribe migrated to Abeokuta South Local Government of Ogun State. Therefore, Ilu-gun peo- ple can be found in two Local Government Areas of Ogun State (Figure 1). Like other Yoruba groups, they appre- ciate and adore their culture. Part of this appreciation to- wards culture and plant conservation is the use of plant species for the maintenance of their health. Africa is a continent endowed with an enormous wealth of plant resources. Over 5,000 different species are kno- wn to occur in the forest regions alone, and most of them have been used for several centuries in traditional me- dicine for the prevention and treatment of disease (Iwu, 1993). African materia medica does not consist of diete- tics alone, but include many potent herbs. Few African healing herbs are recognized in modern pharmacopoeia; the list includes Calabar bean (Physostigma venenosum), Strophanthus, Areca nuts, kinox, fulix, kola, the African periwinkles (Catharanthus roseus) and the devil’s claw