Asian Journal of Applied Sciences (ISSN: 2321 – 0893) Volume 8 – Issue 3, June 2020 Asian Online Journals (www.ajouronline.com) 149 Variability between Socio-cultural Groups and Generations of Traditional Knowledge of the Use of Euphorbia poissonii Pax in Benin Gbodja Houéhanou François Gbesso 1 * , Jhonn Logbo 1 , Jacques Evrard Charles Aguia Daho 2 1 Horticultural Research and GreenSpace Planning Unit - Laboratory of Plant, Horticultural and Forestry Sciences -School of Horticulture and Green Space Management (EHAEV) - National University of Agriculture (UNA) - BP 43 Kétou - Bénin 2 Plant Biotechnology Research Unit, Crop Production and Seed Science - Laboratory of Plant, Horticultural and Forestry Sciences - School of Plant and Seed Management and Productions - National University of Agriculture (UNA) - BP 43 Kétou - Bénin * Corresponding author’s email: fr.gbesso [AT] gmail.com _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT— This study was conducted in the Municipality of Savalou to assess endogenous knowledge related to the use of Euphorbia poissonii in the Mahi and Nago ethnic groups. The survey was conducted through individual interviews with 112 people. The Relative Frequency, the Use Value, Fidelity and Cultural Importance index were used to assess the importance of each use. Correspondence analysis (CA) was used to describe the relationship between the categories of use and ethnicities and between the parts used of the plant and the ethnics groups. The analysis showed that the plant, Euphorbia poissonii, falls under three levels of major medicinal use, including: medicinal use of the stem, sap and leaf, which is the most common practice of the Mahi sociocultural group (UV=1.58) like Nago (UV=1.35). It helps to effectively treat measles (FL=23.08), incurable wounds (FL=22.30) and scorpion sting (FL=22.30). Powder, infusion and decoction are the forms of preparation of the products most used by the skin. The two socio-cultural groups all hold and effectively various knowledge of the use of different derivatives of the plant. The importance and increasing use of Euphorbia poissonii puts this plant under various pressures and threats from the population and it has no conservation measures to this day. Finally, this study not only alerts but also provides a scientific basis to define strategies for the conservation and protection of this neglected species. Keywords — Euphorbia poissonii, endogenous knowledge, medicinal use, ethnic groups, Savalou _________________________________________________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION Ethnobotany is the empirical study of the socio-cultural interaction between plants and peoples. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 65-80% of the world's population in developing countries depend mainly on plants for primary health care due to poverty and lack of access to modern medicine [1]. In recent decades there has been a growing interest in the study of medicinal plants and their traditional use in different parts of the world. In Africa, the use of medicine and traditional pharmacopoeia is a common and ancestral practice. Currently, nearly 80% of Africa's population uses local plants for treatment and does not have access to modern medicines. Plant care is known and practiced in Africa for a long time, as they exploit knowledge transmitted orally from generation to generation [2]. Rural African communities have traditional knowledge of the value and properties of many plant species [3]. Forest resource management policies can only be sustainable if they incorporate the social, cultural and economic values that local communities associate with them. In this sense, ethnobotanical studies appear to be a good approach to understanding, in a given region, the uses as well as socio-cultural perceptions of forest resources by local populations [4]. Endogenous knowledge, an essential component of biodiversity conservation [5], is important both in improving people's daily lives and in decision-making for resource management [6]. Ethnobotanical studies identify local uses of plant species. This knowledge is the basis of all approaches to providing effective solutions to threats to these species at the local community level [7]. These studies, which focus on the socio-cultural importance or use value of this species, do little to inform the actual diversity of uses observed according to socio-cultural groups [8-11]. It is with a view to valuing and making sustainable use of the species that this study was initiated and aims to evaluate the ethnobotanical knowledge of the species held by the Mahi and Nago socio-cultural groups of the Municipality of Savalou. The study environment ranges from 7°34’06’’ to 8°12’34’’ north latitude and between 1°37’34’’ and 2°8’12’’ of eastern longitude. It covers an area of 2674 km². The Municipality of Savalou is located in a