Journal of Ethnopharmacology 111 (2007) 625–629 The perception and practice of traditional medicine in the treatment of cancers and inflammations by the Hausa and Fulani tribes of Northern Nigeria M.S. Abubakar a,* , A.M. Musa b , A. Ahmed a , I.M. Hussaini c a Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria b Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria c Department of Pathology (Neuropathology), University of Virginia, 415 Lane Road, MR5 Bldg,Charlottesville, Virginia, 80090 Received 7 October 2006; received in revised form 2 January 2007; accepted 10 January 2007 Available online 26 January 2007 Abstract A survey was conducted among Hausa and Fulani, two major tribes of Northern Nigeria to identify plants and methods used traditionally in the treatment of cancers and inflammatory diseases. The ecological zones that were considered include Zaria, Kaduna and Kano in the Northern part of Nigeria. The survey involves traditional healers, hunters, farmers and Fulani nomads. This survey has identified plants useful in the treatment of cancers. The plants were identified via taxonomic means and classified according to their habitats, families, genera. Evidently the plants span families and genera, the knowledge and values of the plants was evaluated with the aim of understanding the scientific basis for the use of the plants. The inventory provides the unique opportunity of capturing plants of common uses across the communities. © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Traditional medicine; Medicinal plants; Cancer; Inflammation 1. Introduction Nigeria consists of various distinct cultural entities includ- ing over 250 ethnic groups, some numbering fewer than 10,000 people. Most are concentrated in specific geographic areas, the Hausa and Fulani in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest, and the Igbo in the southeast. Other sizable groups include the Kanuri in the north, the Edo, Efik, and Urhobo in the south and the Tiv in the center. In the North, Kano is the most densely populated area (CIHI, 1996). The oldest component of the Nigerian health sector consists of traditional healers and birth attendants, who are the de facto providers of primary health care. Healers provide client-centered and personalized health care that is culturally appropriate, holis- tic and tailored to meet the needs and expectations of the patients (Iwu, 1994). There is also a general belief that the remedies used in traditional medicine are safe and more readily acceptable by Abbreviations: CIHI, Center for International Health Information; TMP, traditional medical practitioners; THFM, traditional Hausa/Fulani medicine * Corresponding author. Tel.: +234 8054480491. E-mail address: msabubakar@abu.edu.ng (M.S. Abubakar). the body (De Smet, 1991). Medicinal plant research is directed at verifying ethno-medical claims by herbalists with the ulti- mate aim of isolating active compounds and standardizing the crude extracts used in traditional medicines (Sofowora, 1986; Sofowora, 1993). There is a great diversity in the plants used in traditional medicine; the diversity varies with local cultures and tradition (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962; Farnsworth and Morris, 1976). The Hausa and Fulani are culturally related and distinguished tribes of Northern Nigeria, with an organized political, social and cultural life (Etkin and Ross, 1982; Etkin, 2002). The Hausa/Fulani traditional medical practitioners (TMP) across Northern Nigeria claim that their remedies offer the potentials to cure diseases, but the perception of diseases and their treatment in Hausa/Fulani traditional medicine (THFM), varies from mod- ern medicine. Several plants have reputed applications and are deliberately used in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases (Spjut and Perdue, 1976). This communication is focused on the studying the Percep- tion, identification and classification of folkloric herbs used in the treatment of cancers by the Hausa/Fulani tribes in THFM; this is with the aim of providing an inventory of medicinal plant 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.01.011