Medicinal plants and plant-based medicines are widely used in traditional cultures all over Ghana and they are becoming increasingly popular in modern society as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. In view of this, this project studied the ethnobotany of medicinal plants through socio-economic survey, their propagation and conservation in Ghana. It was found that herbal medicine industry is a major source of income for over 80% of the respondents. Almost 50% of the respondents were women with majority of them involved in marketing of the medicinal plant products. Out of 160 plant species marketed in Ghana, 129 are collected in Ghana with Kumasi and Accra being the major marketing centres. Most of the species have multiple curative properties with over 46 diseases being cured by herbal medicine in Ghana. Due to the high demand, over 100 species were reported as being scarce or unavailable. Some of the major causes are lack of cultivation, unsustainable harvesting, deforestation, wildfire and urbanization. Studies on seed germination showed that seven species out of the ten selected species had good germination, ranging from 40-74% with an average of 63.3%. This suggests the possibility of cultivating medicinal plant species on commercial scale. Based on the results, it was suggested that, linkages between all stakeholders be strengthened in order to promote conservation and commercial production of medicinal plants. Furthermore, improving the knowledge-base of scientists, traditional herbal medical practitioners, policy makers and the public on the relevance and safety of traditional plant medicine could lead to the sustainability of medicinal plants industry in Ghana.
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