Traditional knowledge on herbal drinks among indigenous communities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Abstract

BackgroundTraditional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants for herbal drinks (HDs) is not well documented in the Azad Kashmir region despite their widespread use. This study highlights the taxonomic diversity and traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used for HDs while examining the diversity of diseases treated with HDs in the study area.MethodsIndividual discussions were conducted with 255 informants (84 women and 171 men). Data gathered included (i) informant age and gender, (ii) HD species and respective plant parts used, (iii) health disorders treated, and (iv) mode of preparation and utilizations. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices including relative frequency of citation (RFC), informant consensus factor (ICF), and use value (UV) were used for data analyses.ResultsAltogether, 73 medicinal plants belonging to 40 families and 66 genera were reported to be used in HD preparations, with Asteraceae being the richest family. The average number of HD species cited was 9.09 ± 0.17 per informant and did not vary either by age or gender. In addition, men and women, and adults and the young used the same pool of species (dissimilarity nearly zero). The most used plant parts were leaves (20.00%), roots (17.25%), and fruits (16.47%). Based on UV, the top five most used species were Valeriana jatamansi, Isodon rugosus, Onopordum acanthium, Acacia nilotica, and Viola canescens; and the UV was similar among gender and age categories too. The most utilized herbal preparation forms included decoctions, infusions, and tea. One hundred and eleven diseases grouped into 13 ailment categories were reported to be cured using HDs. The main category of disease treated with HDs was gastrointestinal (GIT) disorders (RFC = 17.43%). Relatively few species were used by a large proportion of informants for each category of ailment (ICF ≥ 0.60). Only one species was used for “glandular disorders” and “eye diseases” (ICF = 1).A novelty of about 22% (16 species) was recorded for HD species in the present work.ConclusionThe diversity of medicinal plant species used as HDs and the associated traditional knowledge are of considerable value to the indigenous communities of the Azad Kashmir region. Therefore, there is a need for conservation and preservation of medicinal HD species as well as the wealth of indigenous knowledge. The conservation effort should be high for species in the ailments categories glandular disorders and eye diseases. The therapeutic uses of HDs have provided basic data for further research focused on phytochemical and pharmacological studies and conservation of the most important species.

Study on the ethnobotany of medicinal plants by people in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…Moreover, people have limited habit to write and document their knowledge on paper. This result is quite different to similar research in Bali and Pakistan as in both research, the respondents were men (100%) while the respondents mostly had age above 40 years old (Sujarwo et al 2015;Rashid et al 2018). Similarly, in Ethiopia, the number of male respondents was more dominant than women (men 61.9% and women, 38.1%) (Checole 2017).…”

“…These, however, are fewer than those in Mecca Saudi Arabia with 67 types of herbal drink with each contains 2-4 species (Alqethami et al 2017). Meanwhile, in Ethiopia, all of herbal drinks are consumed with sugar or honey (Rashid et al 2018) The six types of jamu are commonly used to cure ailments related to gastrointestinal diseases, reproduction, and supplements. Beras kencur is used to reduce bloating and muscle pain, kunir asem is commonly consumed to treat menstrual pain, abdominal pain, bloating and eating disorder.…”

“…This information is similar to the results of Alqethami et al (2017) study that drinking is the favorite used by the Mecca community (49%) followed by eating (19%), sticking (16%), for bathing (13%), made gargle and put on the teeth (1%). While the way of using medicinal plants by the people in Pakistan is mostly preferred in the form of herbal drinks (Rashid et al 2018).…”

“…The uses of plants are widely accepted and appreciated in many communities, especially due to its importance for the development of modern medicine (Kunwar and Rainer 2008). Both in developed and developing countries, 80% of population of the world rely heavily on the use of traditional medicine (Rashid et al 2018). Previous research on the use of medicinal plants can be massively found worldwide.…”

“…Traditional medicine was prepared in various ways, mostly by taking leaves and roots as important materials for making concoction (Mondal et al 2015). That knowledge is important and needs to be followed up with research on the phytochemical contents and their pharmacological aspects (Rashid et al 2018).…”