Open Access Library Journal 2019, Volume 6, e5103 ISSN Online: 2333-9721 ISSN Print: 2333-9705 DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1105103 Jan. 18, 2019 1 Open Access Library Journal Indigenous Traditional Knowledge on Health and Equitable Benefits of Oil Palm (Elaeis spp.) Medagam Thirupathi Reddy 1* , Motha Kalpana 1 , Natarajan Sivaraj 2 , Venkateswaran Kamala 2 , Someswara Rao Pandravada 2 , Neelam Sunil 2 1 Horticultural Research Station, Dr. Y.S.R. Horticultural University, Vijayarai, Andhra Pradesh, India 2 National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Hyderabad, Telangana, India Abstract Recent international policy resolutions have recognized the importance of in- digenous knowledge and potential of native medicinal plants in providing health and equitable benefits to the indigenous communities. Lack of know- ledge on available native medicinal plants and their health potential may re- sult in inappropriate health care practices causing ailments and associated problems. Oil palm is among the plants that are widely used by the traditional natives of West Africa. Every part of the oil palm has domestic, economic, environmental and medicinal values. This review aims at exploration, per- petuation and preservation of indigenous knowledge on oil palm for health and equitable benefits for incorporation of the same into primary health care system. The traditional medicinal uses of oil palm by indigenous communi- ties are well known from the bibliographical records. The literature consulted for this review was obtained from Medline, PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, Scopus, SID and Google Scholar search carried out from October, 2018 to November, 2018. The literature survey and screening of data revealed that preparations from different parts of Elaeis guineensis are widely used in tra- ditional medicine by the indigenous communities, with most of the uses re- lating to leaf, fruit, seed, infructescence/inflorescence, root and heart. E. gui- neensis is used in traditional medicine mostly without being mixed with other plants, and less commonly in mixtures, sometimes in mixture with products of animal origin to treat ailments like malaria, anaemia, gonorrhoea, ame- norrhea, menorrhagia, hernia, rheumatism, bronchitis, hepatitis, small pox, measles, influenza, fever, dysentery, pleurisy, lumbago, cancer, asthma, di- abetes, epilepsy, headache, earache, perinatal abdominal pain, hiccoughs, convulsions, filariasis, candidiasis, Tinea cruris, to reduce mental fatigue, mental disorders, palpitations and heart trouble, to regulate body tempera- ture, to heal ulcers, boils, piles, cuts and fractures, for sexual impotence, male How to cite this paper: Reddy, M.T., Kalpana, M., Sivaraj, N., Kamala, V., Pandravada, S.R. and Sunil, N. (2019) Indigenous Traditional Knowledge on Health and Equitable Benefits of Oil Palm (Elaeis spp.). Open Access Library Journal, 6: e5103. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1105103 Received: December 10, 2018 Accepted: January 15, 2019 Published: January 18, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Open Access Library Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access