ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF UTEROTONIC MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN SOUTHERN BENIN

Maternal mortality remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, where uterotonic plants are an essential therapeutic resource. This study aimed to inventory species with uterotonic potential used in southern Benin and validate their activity through qualitative phytochemical screening. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among 608 informants across seven departments and 15 sociolinguistic groups, followed by phytochemical analysis of the nine most cited species. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, PCoA, PERMANOVA, Mantel, and Procrustes. The survey recorded 107 species from 54 families, dominated by Fabaceae (13.08%), Malvaceae (10.28%), and Lauraceae (6.54%), with herbaceous plants (42.05%) and leaves (54.39%) being the most used, and decoction (45.39%) the main preparation method. Petiveria alliacea stood out with the highest frequency of mention (44.56%) and consensus index (0.754). Phytochemical screening revealed tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, mucilages, reducing compounds, and C-heterosides, with P. alliacea being among species presenting all four major metabolites. PCoA revealed knowledge structuring by ethnolinguistic groups (94.6% variance explained), with a remarkable correlation for P. alliacea (r = -0.990; p < 0.001), confirmed by strong concordance between ethnobotanical and phytochemical profiles in Procrustes analysis (r = 0.906; p = 0.001). Integrating ethnobotanical surveys, multivariate analyses, and phytochemical validation confirms the scientific value of traditional knowledge and contributes to the valorization of local plant resources for improving maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa.