TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF CANCER TREATMENT IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA: AN ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL REVIEW

Abstract

Cancer is one of the main causes of death globally and a serious public health problem. One in every six mortalities worldwide is caused by cancer. Several chemotherapeutic medications are used to treat cancer without any selectivity, which has long-lasting negative consequences. Nigerian Medicinal Plants (NMPs) have been used in traditional and folk medicine to manage and treat cancer. The present review aims to provide a summary of the traditional knowledge of cancer treatment in Southwestern Nigeria detailing the plants, phytochemistry, the synergistic effects of synthetic and natural product drugs, the perspective of the indigenous people in the treatment of cancer, and the anticancer activity of Nigerian medicinal plants that have undergone empirical investigation. Some of these plants have been reported to exhibit anticancer activity in the breast, lung, pancreatic, stomach, colon, prostate, leukemia, ovarian, and cervical indicating the possible use of these medicinal plants as anticancer drug agents.