Medicinal plants have evolved over the centuries as essential parts of African civilization and are widely recognized today as representing its rich cultural and scientific heritage. The increasing demand for medicinal plant products has renewed interest in the pharmaceutical industry in the production of herbal health care formulations, herbal-based cosmetic products, and herbal nutritional supplements.
Thus, in addition to serving medical and cultural functions, medicinal plants in Africa have economic importance. Global and national markets have been growing for medicinal herbs, and significant economic gains are being realized through the sale of medicinal plant products. The propagation of plants has been a fundamental operation of mankind. When new kinds of plants have to be conserved or propagated, we need to develop knowledge and techniques to propagate them. An appropriate propagation technology can be selected for each kind of medicinal plant depending upon plant growth.
 Medicinal plants have been the basis of treatment of various diseases in African traditional medicine as well as other forms of treatment from diverse cultures of the world. About 80% of the world’s population still depends solely on traditional or herbal medicine for treatment of diseases, mostly in Africa and other developing nations. Most of the potent medicinal plants have relatively no toxic or adverse effects when used by humans, while some are very toxic to both humans and animals with the potential of damaging certain organs in the body. This calls for caution in the use of medicinal plants of which the use is presently on the increase due to easy availability, affordability, accessibility, and promising efficacy comparable to the often high cost and adverse effects of standard synthetic drug agents. Medicinal plants also can be poisonous, affecting the entire spectrum of organ systems, with some plants containing several toxic principles that affect different systems. Toxic principles can be found in different parts of medicinal plants: leaves, fruits, flowers, roots, and stem bark. Conservation can also be taken up by setting up a small community garden by distributing 50 to 100 useful plants for a primary health centre which the local community could maintain. Seed banks and nurseries can also be developed by the community to generate income, Medicinal plant species can be planted under the wasteland development programme.
Medicinal Plant With Botanical Name
Some common medicinal plants with their botanical names and functions.
| Common name | Botanical Name | Mode of Application |
| Vegetable hummingbird | Sesbania grandiflora | fever, kills intestinal worms |
| Ashwagandha | Withania somnifera | Fever |
| True indigo | Indigofera tinctoria | kills intestinal worms |
| Worm killer | Aristolochia bractiata | kills intestinal worms |
| Pineapple | Ananas comosus | stimulant for hunger, for constipation, promotes digestion |
| Malabar nut | Adhatoda vasica | |
| Wild date palm | Phoenix sylvestris | Diabetes,fever |
| Sesame | Sesamum indicum | Increases milk secretion |
| Garlic | Alium sativum | Stimulant expectorant |
| Ginger | Zingiber officinale | Promotes digestion |
| Erythrina | Erythrina indica | Increases milk secretion |
| Gum Arabic tree | Acacia nilotica | Disease of respiratory tract |
| False daisy | Eclipta alba | For constipation |
| Indian nettle | Acalypha indica | Cold and cough, kills intestinal worms |
| Eclipta | Eclipta prostrata | Strengthens liver |
| Temple plants | Crataeva religiosa | Fever |
| Chinaberry | Melia azadirach | Kills intestinal worms |
| Pomegranate | Punica granatum | Kills intestinal worms |
| Mango | Mangifera indica | Kills intestinal worms |
| Black pepper | Piper nigrum | Cold and cough |
| Turmeric | Curcuma longa | Cold and cough |
| Indian gooseberry | Phyllanthus emblica | Decreases body temperature |
| Rose apple | Eugenia jambusa | Diabetes |
| Indian mulberry | Morinda tinctoria | Fever |
| Chinese chaste tree | Vitex negundo | Fever |
| Pinwheel flower | Tabernaemontana divaricata | Kills intestinal worms |
| Momordica | Memordica charntia | Kills intestinal worms |
| Sugar apple | Annona squamoza | Wounds/ulcers |
| Acacia | Acacia concina | Cold and cough wounds |
| Turkey berry | Solanum torvum | Cold and cough |
| Golden shower tree | Cassia fistula | Fever |
| Mukia | Mukia maderaspatana | Asthma ,ulcer |
| Thumbia | Leucus aspera | Cold and cough |
| Southern india | Solanium trilobatum | Cold and cough |
| Holy basil | Ocimum sanctum | diseases of the respiratory tract |
| Gurmar | Gymnema sylvestris | stimulant for hunger |
| Indian bael | Aegle marmelos | fever, digestion |
| Slender dwarf morning glory | Evolvulus alsinoides | fever |
| Neem tree | Azadirachta indica | intestinal worms malerial fever skin diseases |
| Cucumber | Cucumis sativus | descreases body temperature |
| Onion | Allium cepa | cold and cough |
| Indian kino tree | Pterocarpus marsupium | wounds / ulcers |
| Trigonella | Trigonella feenugracum | increases milk secretion |
| Nerium | Nerium odoratum | for constipation |
| Asthma plants | Euphorbia hirta | decreases body temperature |
| Mahua | Bassia longifolia | decreases body temperature |
| Fennel flower | Nigella sativa | induces labour pain during delivery |
| Bambusa bambos | Bambusa arundinacea | for leprosy, skin diseases, astringent, laxative, cooling |
| White siris | Albizzia lebbeck | astringent, asthma, expectorant, leprosy |
| Teak plants | Tectona grandis | astringent, cooling, constipation, bronchitis, hyper- acidity |
| Somraj | Vernonia anthelmintica | astringent, anti-inflammatory, fever, expectorant |
| Camphor tree | Cinnamomum camphora | aphrodisiac, anti- inflammatory, asthma, expectorant, diarhoea |
| Lemon | Citrus limon | aids digestion, for constipation, cough, laxative, antiseptic, bronchitis |
| Nut grass | Cyperus rotundus | cooling, astringent, anti inflammatory, scabies, skin disease |
| Sunflower | Helianthus annus | strengthening teeth, leprosy, ulcer, skin diseases, bronchitis |
| Daisy | Inula racemosa | antiseptic, digestion ulcer, cough, asthma, bronchitis |
| Burflower tree | Neolamarckia cadamba | astringent, ulcer, digestive, diarrhoea, expectorant, fever, vomiting |
| Date palm | Phoenix dactylifera | expectorant, cooling, bronchitis, cough, burning sensation |
| Henna | Lawsonia inermis | leprosy, skin diseases, premature falling & greying of hair |
| Veld grape | Cissus quadrangularis | Chronic Ulcers |
| Wild mint | Mentha arvensis | digestion, cough |
| Lemon grass | Cymbopogon caesius | insect bites |
| Black pepper | Piper nigrum | cold and cough |
| Ginger | Zingiber officianale | headache, dry cough |
| American basil | Ocimum americanum | Bronchitis |
Organic farming with medicinal plants as botanical pesticides can be encouraged as a practice to replace chemical pesticides among farmers. A gene pool of herbal and medicinal plants can be established. Conservation strategies based on present demands and immediate future needs to be prioritized. If all this has to be done, awareness programs should be conducted stressing the importance of medicinal herbs and their identification and utilization for treating diseases in human beings and animals.