A LOOK AT PHYTOTHERAPY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SNAKEBITES IN THE CITY OF GOMA (NORTH KIVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO): ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY AND HUMAN HEALTH

Our ethnobotanical survey was carried out among 29 healers and phytotherapists in the city of Goma. From this study, 26 plant species belonging to 24 genera and 19 families used against snake bites have been inventoried. The Asteraceae family (4 species and 4 recipes) is the most represented, followed by the Malvaceae and Verbenaceae families (2 species). The leaf is the most widely used organ, trituration is the most widely used preparation method, and the poultice is the most widely adopted method of administration. Lantana trifoliais the plant most frequently used by Goma herbalists, and Cassia Occidentalisthe most frequently cited in the literature on anti-venom control.