Research Article Documentation of Herbal Medicines Used for the Treatment and Management of Human Diseases by Some Communities in Southern Ghana Augustine A. Boadu and Alex Asase Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 55, Legon, Ghana Correspondence should be addressed to Alex Asase; alexasase@gmail.com Received 19 January 2017; Revised 31 March 2017; Accepted 3 May 2017; Published 8 June 2017 Academic Editor: Andrea Pieroni Copyright © 2017 Augustine A. Boadu and Alex Asase. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Traditional medicine is an important component of the health care system of most developing countries. However, indigenous knowledge about herbal medicines of many Ghanaian cultures has not yet been investigated. Te aim of the present study was to document herbal medicines used by traditional healers to treat and manage human diseases and ailments by some communities living in Ghana. Te study was conducted in eight communities in southern Ghana. Data were collected from 45 healers using ethnobotanical questionnaire and voucher specimens were collected. A total of 52 species of plants belonging to 28 plant families were reportedly used for treatment and management of 42 diseases and ailments. Medicinal plants were commonly harvested from the wild and degraded lowland areas in the morning from loamy soil. Herbal medicines were prepared in the form of decoctions (67%) and infusions (33%). Oral administration of the herbals was most (77%) common route of administration whereas the least used routes were nasal (1%) and rectal (2%). Te results of the study show that herbal medicines are used for treatment and management of both common and specialized human diseases and that factors of place and time are considered important during harvesting of plants for treatments. 1. Introduction According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 80% of developing countries depend on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs [1]. In Ghana, traditional medicine, particularly herbal medicines, is an important component of the health care system of the people [2]. Te utilization of herbal medicines and associated medicinal plants in Ghana has been documented by many authors [e.g., [3–5]] although there are still many indigenous cultures and communities in Ghana that possess a great store of traditional knowledge about herbal medicines for treatment of various human ailments, which are yet to be documented. Te use of herbal medicine in Ghana is widespread but highly diverse due to foristic and cultural diversity, and traditional medicine has huge impacts on the local economy and biodiversity conservation. Te rich history of use of herbal medicines and innovative utilization of plants as sources of medicines in Ghana, and broadly within Africa, has been passed down through generations largely as oral tradition [6] and as such it is important that this knowledge be documented. Te WHO has a keen interest in documenting the use of medicinal plants by indigenous people from diferent parts of the world [7]. Documentation of indigenous knowledge about utiliza- tion of medicinal plants is important for a plethora of reasons. Firstly, it ensures that indigenous culture heritage is preserved from being lost for the use of both present and future generations [8]. Studies have indicated that indigenous knowledge about herbal medicines is continuously being lost through factors such as acculturation and biodiversity losses. For example, a comparative study of contemporary plant uses in Ghana shows that the materia medica of the Fanti, Ga, and Ashanti has changed considerably over time [6]. Secondly, through further research such as phytochemical, biochem- ical, pharmacological, and clinical studies information on Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2017, Article ID 3043061, 12 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3043061