Ethnobotanical Documentation of Traditional Knowledge about Medicinal Plants used by Indigenous People in Talash Valley of Dir Lower, Northern Pakistan

Abstract

to obtain ethnobotanical data from the local herbalist and elder villagers. Quantitatively, the ethnobotanical data were analyzed by using indices, Use Value, Relative frequency of citation, and Informant Agreement Ratio. Results: The study identified a total of 50 medicinal plant species belonging to 33 botanical families and 46 genera in the 17 villages. Lamiaceae with 6 species is the dominant family, and herbs (68%) the main sources of herbal formulations. Leaves (41%) are the main parts for ethnomedicine, and 32% of drug orally administrated in the form of decoction. Conclusion:The Talash Valley is rich in its medicinal plant's flora and the associated traditional knowledge. Ethnomedicine plays an important role in the local healthcare system. The finding of new medicinal uses, recipes; vernacular plant names, using new morphological parts, and harvesting methods in the current study show the importance of the documentation of plant resources and ethnobotanical knowledge. We suggest and recommend that documented plants to be screened for further ethnopharmacological studies. ARTICLE HISTORY

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the rural communities of Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

“…Inhabitants of the study area use 63% of the herbal preparations as oral intake, whereas rest 37% were applied topically. These results were analogous to previous reports [36, 67, 68, 72, 94, 95]. Poultice, rubbing, and paste were common topical methods as reported in previous studies [51, 96].…”

“…(◆) = plants with similar use(s); (∎) = plants with dissimilar use (s); (●) = plants not reported in a previous study; Condition/ailment written in bold indicate the most preferred use for a given plant; *Plant uses, which are not reported in a previous study. 1: Ahmad et al [20]; 2: Hussain et al [60] 3: Shaheen et al [61]; 4: Amjad et al [59]; 5: Ajaib et al [62]; 6: Safeer et al [63]; 7: Shabir et al [64]; 8: Ahmad and Habib, [65]; 9: Qaseem et al [66]; 10: Khan et al [67]; 11: Wali et al [68]; 12: Ijaz et al [69]; 13: Hussain et al [70]; 14: Aziz et al [71]; 15: Ahmad et al [39]; 16: Aziz et al [50]; 17: Gulzar et al [45]; 18: Umair et al [36]; 19: Zahoor et al [72]; 20: Kayani et al [38]; 21; Umair et al [73]; 22: Fatima et al [74]

Fig. 3Life form distribution pattern of the reported plant species in the study area

Fig.

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Medico-botanical plants from Phulgran village, Islamabad, Pakistan

“…Most commonly the herbal medicines were prepared through powder (25.3%), followed by decoction (16.5%), plant extract (8.8%), paste (7.7%), poultice (5.5%), chewing (4.4%), juice, ash, frying in oil, cooked, poherb, through rubbing, and herbal tea (3.3% each), eaten as raw, herbal bath, and oil (2.2% each), and pills, and through steam (1.1% each) (figure 6). Such a wide range of preparations of herbal medicines have also been reported in various parts of Pakistan (Khan et al 2018;Ahmad et al 2014;Mahmood et al 2103;) as well as in other parts of the world (Jima and Megersa 2018;Belayneh and Bussa 2014;Kadir et al 2014;Song et al 2013). Local people of Phulgran applied plants through different routes.…”

An Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants used in the Management of Dermatological Disorders in Buyende and Kayunga Districts, Uganda

“…However, research shows that literacy levels of people determined the mode of treatment [30]; the less educated preferred traditional methods of treatment where as the well educated preferred modern methods of health care. Research over the years has shown low literacy levels among research respondents: [31,32,33,26].…”