Ethnomedicinal study of major species in the family Labiatae from Kenya

Abstract

The family Labiatae, commonly called the mint family, is one of the flowering group of plants that has been found to have great medicinal potential. In this study, at least twenty-eight (28) indigenous species which are popular among Kenyan herbalists have been collected from the Rift Valley and central parts of Kenya. Preliminary chemical analysis of the Ocimum genus has revealed several different components of essential oils. There is evidence that further and more intensive research on the medicinal aspects of the family is called for