Design and Development of Mobile Herbal Dictionary

Traditional medicine has been a fundamental part of healthcare in Africa for centuries, with herbal remedies playing a significant role in disease prevention and treatment. However, the lack of a structured and easily accessible repository of herbal knowledge has led to challenges in preserving and utilizing indigenous medicinal practices. This study focuses on the development of a Mobile Herbal Dictionary System, a digital platform designed to provide real-time access to information about medicinal plants, their botanical and local names, and their therapeutic uses. The research adopts a system development approach, incorporating interviews with traditional healers and literature reviews to build a comprehensive database of herbs. The system was implemented using Android Studio for the mobile client and PHP with MySQL for backend processing, ensuring real-time data retrieval and user-friendly navigation. The findings reveal that mobile technology can effectively bridge the knowledge gap by making herbal medicine information widely accessible. Despite its benefits, the study highlights challenges such as standardization of herbal data, regulatory concerns, and potential herb-drug interactions. To enhance reliability, the study recommends regular updates, multilingual support, AI-driven herb identification, and integration with modern healthcare systems. By digitalizing traditional herbal knowledge, the Mobile Herbal Dictionary System has the potential to promote self-care, improve health outcomes, and preserve indigenous medical practices for future generations