Sources and Extraction Method Related to Herbal Medicine of People in Banlong District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia

Abstract

Introduction: Traditional medicine is one of the main sources of health care in developing and developed countries. Herbal medicines are often used in combination with modern medicines as part of the healthcare system or under professionals. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and identify the practices related to the use of herbal medicine among the people in Banlong District, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia because the use of herbal medicine is limited. However, this study is also essential to confirmatory evidence-based healthcare planning and encourage safe use of herbal medicines.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to determine the prevalence and identify practice related herbal medicine use in Ratanakiri Province. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data through face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: Socio-Demographic and Practice related to herbal medicine. Descriptive analysis described the data by using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program version 26.0.

Results: The total number of respondents were 109 people and all of them used herbal medicine. Most of the respondents were married (80.7%) and female (69.4%). The majority of participants had just completed primary school and made 450, 000 riels per month, with half of them reporting working as sellers (55%). Regarding experiences with herbal use, the largest proportion had been using medicine for less than one year (41.3%), followed by those with 7-8 years (31.2%). The primary sources about medicinal plants use were neighbors (31.2%) and parents (20.2%). In addition, 21.1% of participants reported using tubers as the plant part of choice. The most common source of obtaining medicinal plants was the local market (46.8%), and boiling was the most frequently used preparation method (60.6%).

Conclusion: This study found that females with low income and low education were the crucial ones who reported using herbal medicines, and they mostly relied on informal sources of information. The brief usage period points to a recent herbal increase in interest. It is advised that the community implement the intervention for safe and efficient herbal use by integrating knowledge and practice with evidence-based methods.