ABSTRACT
Plants have been a major source of medicine for human kind. The demand for traditional herbs is increasing very rapidly, mainly because of the harmful effects of synthetic chemical drugs. Semi-structured questionnaires/interviews amidst informal conversation on the respondents whose opinions were sought on their knowledge of herbal medicine. The questionnaires had two components: Demography and Indigenous knowledge on herbal medicines. Only 297 (84.85%) students responded and finally selected for the study through a purposive and convenience sampling process. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentages using Microsoft excel version 2010.
There was a high overall attitude of the students towards the use of herbal medicine in this study (67.9%). The year of study of the student, gender and locality of early life did not significantly influence the attitude of the students to herbal medicines. 94.29% of the study participants use herbal medicines, 51.18% use medicinal plants for health promotion, 77.11% of participants consult medical doctors when unwell and 73.06% use prescription medicines when unwell.
Study participants seems very enthusiastic about herbal medicines, however their knowledge is not properly guided. Although with limited knowledge, the medical students showed a high level of personal use and good attitude towards herbal medicines. Introduction of herbal medicine course in their medical curriculum should increase their knowledge and attitude so they could in the future adequately manage patients who used or intend to use herbal products together with the orthodox medicines.
CHAPTER THREE
