A Review of the Ethnomedicinal and Ethnoveterinary importance of invasive plant species, their toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in Protected Areas of Uganda

A Review of the Ethnomedicinal and Ethnoveterinary importance of invasive plant species, their toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in Protected Areas of Uganda | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review A Review of the Ethnomedicinal and Ethnoveterinary importance of invasive plant species, their toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in Protected Areas of Uganda James Thomas Wanyama, Joseph Kitalikyawe, Janet Kabugho, Julius Musiige, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9063061/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary relevance : Invasive plant species, though with negative impacts on the environment, human health, and wildlife health, possess immense roles in ethnomedicine and ethnoveterinary fields. In Uganda, studies on invasive plant species are voluminous. However, studies that focus on ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary uses, toxicity, therapeutic compounds, and pharmacological activity of invasive plants in protected areas are extremely rare. Aim of the study : This review aimed to compile invasive plant species, their ethnomedicine uses, ethnoveterinary uses, and data on toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in selected protected areas of Uganda. Materials and methods : The review examined 17 studies on invasive plants in selected protected areas of Uganda, and this was guided using a PRISMA flowchart. Results : 13 invasive plant species from 9 families were recorded, with most species belonging to the Fabaceae plant family. Leaves were highly depended on for both ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary purposes, with decoction and infusion being the most common methods of preparing medicine from invasive plants. Oral administration was also common. In humans, diseases that were commonly managed using medicine from invasive plants were syphilis, diarrhea, diabetes, hypertension, and malaria. In animals, ectoparasites were commonly managed using medicine from invasive plants. Other diseases also managed in animals were measles, diarrhea, lumps, and east coast fever. Invasive plants also possessed toxic effects such as asthma, eczema, skin inflammation and hay fever in humans, and kidney damage, diarrhea, mortality, bloat, and frothy in animals. Anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant effects were the most common pharmacological activities possessed by invasive plant species followed by anti-cancer activity. Conclusion and future direction : There are still many invasive plants affecting Uganda’s protected areas with most of them not scientifically documented. The findings from this study can guide the use of invasive plants in drug discovery and product development rather than destroying them. There is a need for studies to investigate the relationship betweenthe pharmacological activity of invasive plants and the toxic effects that they possess. Drug Discovery, Design, & Development Toxicology Invasive Plant Species Ethnoveterinary Medicine Ethnomedicine Protected Areas Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.docx Table of invasive plant species in Uganda's protected areas Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9063061","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":602548090,"identity":"d80bad5a-7521-487d-bee5-78610cb5a4a9","order_by":0,"name":"James Thomas Wanyama","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2235-1573","institution":"Makerere University; 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In Uganda, studies on invasive plant species are voluminous. However, studies that focus on ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary uses, toxicity, therapeutic compounds, and pharmacological activity of invasive plants in protected areas are extremely rare.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAim of the study\u003c/strong\u003e: This review aimed to compile invasive plant species, their ethnomedicine uses, ethnoveterinary uses, and data on toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in selected protected areas of Uganda.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterials and methods\u003c/strong\u003e: The review examined 17 studies on invasive plants in selected protected areas of Uganda, and this was guided using a PRISMA flowchart.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e: 13 invasive plant species from 9 families were recorded, with most species belonging to the Fabaceae plant family. Leaves were highly depended on for both ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary purposes, with decoction and infusion being the most common methods of preparing medicine from invasive plants. Oral administration was also common. In humans, diseases that were commonly managed using medicine from invasive plants were syphilis, diarrhea, diabetes, hypertension, and malaria. In animals, ectoparasites were commonly managed using medicine from invasive plants. Other diseases also managed in animals were measles, diarrhea, lumps, and east coast fever. Invasive plants also possessed toxic effects such as asthma, eczema, skin inflammation and hay fever in humans, and kidney damage, diarrhea, mortality, bloat, and frothy in animals. 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There is a need for studies to investigate the relationship betweenthe pharmacological activity of invasive plants and the toxic effects that they possess.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Review of the Ethnomedicinal and Ethnoveterinary importance of invasive plant species, their toxicity, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic compounds, in Protected Areas of Uganda","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-10 10:16:00","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9063061/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"05ce086d-4965-44e6-b6e9-44a7fdbd3615","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64119700,"name":"Drug Discovery, Design, \u0026 Development"},{"id":64119701,"name":"Toxicology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-10T10:16:01+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-10 10:16:00","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9063061","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9063061","identity":"rs-9063061","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}