Table 2 Termite species used in traditional folk medicine

Hodotermitidae

Hodotermes mossambicus (Hagen, 1853)

Child malnutrition

Zambia

[62]

Termitidae

Macrotermes bellicosus (Smeathman, 1781)

Suture wounds

Somalia

[101]

Macrotermes nigeriensis (Sjoestedt, 1911e)

Sickness in pregmant women, Wounds

Spiritual protection against witches and wizards, rituals protection and promotion (in jobs, trade), appealing to gods and witches, safe delivery of baby, soothsaying (Afose)

Nigeria

[18,61]

Microcerotermes exiguus (Hagen, 1858)

Asthma, Bronchitis, Influenza, Whooping Cough, Flu

Brazil

[6,11,18,61,72,75,99]

Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky, 1855)

Asthma, Cough, Flu, and sore throat, Antibiotic activity, Antimicrobial

Chickens’ gogo (infectious coryza, a type of cold)/ Honey

Brazil

[15,18,66,68-70,73]

Nasutitermes macrocephalus (Silvestri, 1903)

Asthma, Leakage, Bronchitis, ‘catarrh in the chest’ coughs, influenza, sore throat, sinusitis, tonsillitis and hoarseness

Brazil

[6,16,18,65,67,71,73-75,100]

Odontotermes feae (Wasmann, 1896)

Asthma

India

[20]

Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki, 1909)

Ulcer, Better health, Body pain, Rheumatics, Anemia, The Enhacement of lactation

India

[14,20,70,102]

Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Sjoestedt, 1900)

Antifungal and antibacterial properties

Brazil

[15,20,63,64]