This paper presents a review of relevant antidiarrhoeal medicinal plants based on the fundamental knowledge accumulated by indigenous people of Ethiopia. The review includes an inventory carried out on the phytochemical and pharmacological analysis of plant species used in the treatments of diarrhoeal diseases. This study is based on a review of the literature published in scientific journals, books, theses, proceedings, and reports. A total of 132 medicinal plants used by local people of Ethiopia are reported in the reviewed literature. Herbs (43.6%) were the primary source of medicinal plants, followed by trees (27%). Some findings include the predominance of leaf material used (78%), as well as the frequent use of crushing of the plant parts (38%) as a mode of preparation. This study demonstrates the importance of traditional medicines in the treatment of basic human ailments such as diarrhoeal diseases in Ethiopia. Baseline information gaps were observed in different regions of Ethiopia. Thus, documentation of the knowledge held by other regions of Ethiopia that have so far received less attention and urban ethnobotany is recommended for future ethnobotanical studies. In addition, phytochemical studies are recommended mainly on frequently utilized medicinal plants for treatment of diarrhoeal diseases which can serve as a basis for future investigation of modern drug development. Although societies in Ethiopia have long used medicinal plants for diarrhoeal diseases treatment, it is also a good practice to perform toxicological tests.

The study was conducted on homegardens of Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia with the aim of documenting useful plant species; identifying the internal and external household factors related to useful plant species diversity in and around home gardens and examining its contribution to household food security and income generation. A random sample of 120 homegardens from eight sub-cities of Hawassa city was used to collect useful plant species data. Techniques used were focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews, home garden tour, market survey, free listing, priority ranking, and preference ranking. A total of 258 useful plant species were documented, of which 47.29% were ornamental plants, 29.75% food plants, and 15.89% medicinal plants. Fabaceae was the dominant family represented by 9 genera and 20 species, followed by Euphorbiaceae and Asteraceae with 17 and 16 species each respectively. Homegarden size of the study area ranged from 220 to 1235 m 2 with a mean size of 571 m 2 . The age of homegarden is ranged from 15 years old to 55 years old with a mean aged of 28. The number of species in the homegarden ranges from 10 to 45 with the mean of 23. The study indicates that home gardens are contributing to food security, income generation and livelihoods in Hawassa city through production of ornamental, food plants, fodder, medicinal, timber and construction. The study recommended that the management of useful plant species in homegardens will be scaled up and further expanded and assisted by agricultural extensions in urban areas in Ethiopia.

Background: The study was undertaken with the general objective of providing documentation of traditional medicinal plants (MPs), and associated indigenous knowledge of the people inhabiting in and around Aba-Asrat Monastery, East Gojjam Zone, North western Ethiopia. Methods: Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observation and focus group discussions in the field. A total of 160 (100 males and 60 females) informants were interviewed. The collected data were assessed quantitatively using various measures like fidelity level (FL), paired comparison, preference and direct matrix rankings. Results: Results of ethnobotanical study revealed a total of 81 medicinal plant species belonging to 77 genera and 48 families were recorded which are used to treat human and livestock ailments. Asteraceae with nine (9.68%) species and Solanaceae with seven (7.53%) species were families represented by more species in the study areas. Herbs were found to be the most widely used life forms which account for 42 (45.16%) followed by shrubs 29 (31.18%). The most frequently used plant parts were the leaves followed by the roots. The highest FL values were recorded for Plumbago zeylanica and Prunus africana having highest scores (100%) that treat diseases like wounds, eczema and fibril illness. Nicotiana tabacum was the most preferred plant species against leech for livestock. Conclusions: The major threats to plants in the study area were overgrazing, fire wood collection, agricultural expansion and charcoal. It is therefore, recommended that the declining plants species in the study area call for encouragement of sustainable use, conserve and manage it together with the MPs sheltered in it.