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Article History

Received: 9 May 2025

Accepted: 11 May 2026

First Online: 22 May 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Research Unit in Applied Microbiology and Pharmacology of Natural Substances, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin (Approval No. 0018/2024/CE/URMAPha/UAC). It was conducted in accordance with local regulations in Benin and with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. It was approved on 20 January 2025 by the institutional review board of the Doctoral School of Life and Earth Sciences of the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) as part of a thesis project, under the registration number 40651925, for the award of a PhD in Plant Sciences and Pharmacopeia.

: All participants gave written informed consent on 3 February 2025 prior to data collection. Participants were given clear information about the aims of the study, the methods of data collection and their rights, including the freedom to withdraw from the study at any time without consequence. They gave their consent to the use and publication of the data, including in anonymized form. The form included a formal undertaking by the researcher and the participant to abide by all the agreed conditions, with signatures from the participant and the researcher, as well as the date of signature. No minors took part in this study. Each participant received a copy of the signed consent form. Traditional practitioners (TPs) were selected for this study by the National Program for Pharmacopeia and Traditional Medicine of the Ministry of Health of Benin, based on their recognized reputation and willingness to participate. Interviews were conducted in languages commonly spoken by TPs, including Fon, Mahi, Adja, Dendi, Bariba, Tchabè, and French. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants after providing them with clear information about the study. For illiterate TPs, the consent form was explained with the assistance of a trusted witness (who understands both French and the local language spoken by the participant) chosen by the participant, after which their consent was formally documented.