Socio-cultural Factors Affecting Traditional Knowledge and the Cultural Significance of the Aromatic and Medicinal Plant, Boswellia dalzielii Hutch., in Burkina Faso

The medicinal plant Boswellia dalzielii is well known and widely used by local communities in West Africa. However, detailed information about this knowledge and its distribution among local people remains poorly documented. We assessed traditional knowledge (TK) regarding the use of B. dalzielii in communities in Burkina Faso. We conducted 160 semi-structured interviews and analyzed the patterns of specific uses and use categories based on the average number of reports per informant, use value (UV), and cultural importance index (CI). Results revealed 42 specific uses of B. dalzielii, grouped into five use categories: medicine, food, construction, cultural uses, and firewood. The bark was the most frequently cited part. UV varied significantly across ethnic groups and age categories, and factors such as gender and education level also significantly influenced the species’ CI. Informants from the Mossi ethnic group and older informants demonstrated greater knowledge of the species.

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