Quantitative study on medicinal plants traded in selected herbal markets of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: This study is the first large-scale medicinal plant survey in the herbal markets of seven Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study provides the first significant catalogue on medicinal plants trade, price patterns, routes and utilization.Methods: Based on semi structured questionnaires, interviews and group discussions with 210 informants (92.86% men and 7.14% women) and personal observations were conducted.Results: A total of 161 plant species and three species of fungi were documented. Among the plants with highest Use Value, Allium cepa were used as anthelmintic and carminative, Bergenia ciliata for bladder stones and Brassica campestris for dandruff and angina. The reported data were analyzed using various ethnobotanical indices such as Use Value (UV), Use Report (UR), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) and Cultural Importance Values (CIV). The most cited used plant part was seeds (22.90%), followed by fruits (19.88%), leaves (15.67%) and root (10.24%). The UV ranged from 0.18 (Seriphidium kurramnse) to 0.86 (Allium cepa, Bergenia ciliata, Brassica campestris, Carum carvi, Coriandurm sativum and Plantago major). RFC ranged from 0.976 (Allium cepa, Piper nigrum and Punica granatum) to 0.076 (Nymphaea alba and Seriphidium kurramnse). The highest mean Cultural Importance (mCI) value was recorded for Allium cepa (0.842) and lowest for Ferula assa-foetida, Terminalia chebula and Croton tiglium having each (0.083). Conclusions:The current research confirmed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is an interesting area for traditional plant use that should be studied in more detail.

Quantitative ethnomedicinal study of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the tribal communities of Central Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

“…Artemisia absinthium is used against malaria, diabetes, as tonic, for blood pressure. It is also known as blood purifier (Khan & Khatoon 2008;Ashrif et al 2010;Murad et al 2012;Abbas et al 2018;Hussain et al 2018a;Muhammad et al 2019;Abbas et al 2020;Shah et al 2020). In our study it was used for the treatment of digestive problem, jaundice as well as Covid-19.…”

“…There is however not a single specimen reported from Central Kurram. Floristically and ethnobotanically this area has not been explored by researchers Hussain et al 2013;Hussain et al 2018a;Shah et al 2020;Hussain et al 2021). In the ethnobotanical literature of Pakistan, some research has been published on the Ethnomedicinal use of plants on Upper and Lower Kurram such as Ajaib et al 2014, reported 45 species from Agra Valley Parachinar, Kurram. They documented that one-third species has single-usage, two and multiple usage shrubs were consumed for crafting (25%), medicinal (22.5%), culinary (11%) miscellaneous and other purposes.…”

Using mathematical models to evaluate germination rate and seedlings length of chickpea seed (Cicer arietinum L.) to osmotic stress at cardinal temperatures

“…This changing climate increases the intensity and frequency of the abiotic factors that contrarily reduced agricultural production [ 13 ]. In these abiotic factors, temperature is the key factor affecting seed germination parameters in all plants [ 14 ]. However, it is significant that each taxon requires a certain range of T s for seed germination called cardinal temperatures [ 15 ].…”

Using Halothermal Time Model to Describe Barley (Hordeumvulgare L.) Seed Germination Response to Water Potential and Temperature

“…Seed Vigor Index = Seedlings length(cm) × Seed Germination %age (17) 2.5.10. Seed Vigor Index-II (SVI-II)…”

“…It is a complex physiological process that is affected by environmental stress factors, including temperature (T), water availability, salinity, light, and chemical materials [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. It has been indicated, however, that temperature and water availability are the main factors influencing SG by affecting seed dormancy, enzymatic activity, hormonal biosynthesis, and translocation of reserve store materials [7,8,17,18]. Furthermore, the ability of the seed to absorb water also determines the success or failure of SG; however, this is determined by soil moisture levels [12].…”