An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat skin diseases by the native communities of Murree, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-121

The objective of this study was to document traditional medicinal plants (including their applications and associated procedures) used to treat skin diseases by native communities of Murree Hills (Pakistan). Data was collected from 5 different sampling sites and 138 informants were interviewed. Respondents were queried in their local language for the type of herbal treatment, famous to that area. It was observed that elderly people and health practitioners of the study area possessed more knowledge about herbal remedies in contrast to young aged people. Results reported that total 56 plants belonging to 36 families and 54 genera were in use by local communities for treatment of multiple skin diseases. It was detected that herbs (41%) constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants followed by shrubs. Leaves were most reported plant part (43 %) followed by fruits (20%), whereas infusion (30%) was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies and direct application on skin was the dominant route of administration. Relative frequency citation (RFC) was recorded highest for Mentha royleana (0.913) and least for Ajuga bracteosa (0.369). Cluster analysis grouped these medicinal species into high, medium and low-ranking groups. High ranking group comprised of 18 medicinal plants, which reflected the popularity and trust of local communities of these plants. Therefore, further pharmacological studies are highly recommended. This study is first proper documentation based on the valuable information attained by the local tribes and it can be utilized by scientific community for further validation and characterization.

Author(s):  
Jane Namukobe ◽  
Anthony Lutaaya ◽  
Savina Asiimwe ◽  
Robert Byamukama

This study was done to document medicinal plants used in the management of dermatological disorders. Documentation of plants is important for conservation especially of rare and endangered plant species. The study was done in Buyende and Kayunga districts in Uganda, between April and July 2017. Data was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires and group discussions, performed on 63 respondents (33 females; 30 males) who were purposively selected because of their expertise in plant use. The study recorded 111 plant species that belong to 46 plant families for treatment of 30 skin disorders. The dominant life form was herb (41%), while leaves were the most used parts (59 %). Majority of plants (72%) were harvested from their natural habitats. Family Fabaceae contributed the highest number of species (20). Milicia excelsa was recorded to be threatened with extinction. The most cited diseases were skin rash (14%), wounds (12%), syphilis (9%), allergy (9%) and ring worm (7%). The plant species with high percent respondent knowledge were Hoslundia opposita, cited by 83% of the people; Bidens pilosa (76%) and Jatropha carcus (56%) all for treating wounds. Topical application (90%) was the common mode of administering herbal remedies, while decoction was least used to prepare remedies. Plants are important in the management of dermatological disorders by local communities in the study areas. The diversity of medicinal plant species used in these areas is based on the rich traditional knowledge of the local communities. There is need to domesticate the rare and threatened medicinal plant species to avoid extinction. Plant species with high percent respondent knowledge can be considered for further studies to identify key active compounds important to develop natural based skin care products.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (06) ◽  
pp. 4589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vardan Singh Rawat

The present study was conducted in the Thalisain block of Pauri Garhwal to document the medicinal plants used by the local communities. 53 plant species distributed in 38 families were documented. Of the total plant species 49% were herbs, 26% trees, 23% shrubs and 2% climbers. 16 different plant parts were used by local communities for different ailments. Medicinal plants were widely used by major sections of the community against common colds, cough, skin diseases, snake bite, fever, joint pains, bronchitis etc. Women and local healers called vaids have a vital role in environmental management due to traditional knowledge and use of plants as medicine with undocumented knowledge. It has been observed as one of the best option of sustainable livelihoods for the residents of the area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 905 (1) ◽  
pp. 012119
Author(s):  
U Nisa ◽  
P R W Astana ◽  
A Triyono ◽  
D Ardiyanto ◽  
U Fitriani ◽  
...  

Abstract Indonesia is one of the wealthiest countries in biological resources that have potential as medicinal plants. Medicinal plants can be an alternative in treating diseases such as urinary tract problems by the people of eastern Indonesia. The study aims to evaluate the use of medicinal plants for various urinary tract problems in east Indonesia, including their efficacy and safety based on the literature review. This research was conducted by interview method and field survey. The data were collected from traditional health practitioners in eastern Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Frequency of Citation (FC) and the Use value (UV). The results showed a total of 222 plants species belonging to 78 families were identified for treating urinary tract problems in east Indonesia. The most prevalent of these was the Euphorbiaceae family. The species which had the highest value were Orthosiphon aristatus (FC 12.52%, UV 0.31), Sericocalyx crispus (FC 7.80%; UV 0.19), Phyllanthus niruri (FC 6.35%; UV 0.16) were the vast majority commonly used plant species in the treatment of urinary tract problems. The most common parts used were leaves (44.87%) and herbs (10.66%). The ethnomedicinal flora in east Indonesia is quite diverse for treating urinary tract problems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misbahu Aman ◽  
Zemede Asfaw ◽  
Gemedo Dalle

Abstract Background Systematic documentation and promotion of indigenous knowledge associated with medicinal plants are limited. The aim of this study was to undertake ethnobotanical investigation on medicinal plants used for the treatment of human and livestock ailments and document indigenous knowledge of local communities on the preparation and administration of herbal remedies in the study area. Methods The study involved 153 informants from nine kebeles, comprising traditional healers, knowledgeable elders and local user communities. Various ethnobotanical techniques were used to collect and analyze data: semi- structured interview, guided field walk, group discussion, preference ranking, and fidelity level index. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis. Results Local communities had rich and diverse indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants, types of ailments, methods of remedy preparations and routes of applications. There were differences in this indigenous knowledge across age and sex. A total of 83 medicinal plants were documented during this study. Fifty two (62.65%) plants were used for treating human ailments, 20 species (24.10%) for treating health problems of livestock and the remaining 11 (13.25%) for treating both human and livestock ailments. The highest informant consensus was documented for the plants Allium sativum , Asparagus africanus and Azadirachta indica. Leaves were the most commonly used parts of medicinal plants accounting for 51.81% of the total followed by roots (20.48%) and barks (2.41%). Oral administration of the herbal medicine was the dominant route 66.3%, followed by dermal (22.7%) which included washing, holding on, rubbing and brushing. Smoking (8.5%) was also important. It was documented that 27 species (32.5%) were used in fresh, 13 species (15.7%) dried and 43 species (51.8%) either in dry or fresh state. Conclusion Owing to their access, curing ability, manageable charges, existence of deep indigenous knowledge and other associated cultural values, medicinal plants continued to play a significant role in meeting healthcare needs of the community in the study area. Conservation and sustainable use of the diverse medicinal plants need to be promoted. Systemic documentation and protection of the rich knowledge of local communities and further research on selected potential species was recommended as a result of this study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khadidja Belhouala ◽  
Bachir Benarba

Traditional medicine is the cornerstone that boosts scientific research to explore new therapeutic approaches. The study aimed to assess the traditional knowledge and use of medicinal plants to treat various ailments by Algerian traditional healers. Forty traditional healers were face-to-face interviewed in three different Algerian areas (West, Kabylia, and Sahara). The data collected were analyzed using quantitative indices such as fidelity level (FL) and informant consensus factor (FIC). A total of 167 species belonging to 70 families were recorded. Lamiaceae (13%), Asteraceae (13%), Apiaceae (7%), and Rosaceae and Fabaceae (5% each) were the most cited families. The survey revealed that leaves were the most used parts of the plants (29%). Furthermore, decoction (35%), raw (24%), and infusion (19%) were the common modes for the remedies’ preparation. Here, 15% of the total species were newly reported as medicinal plants. Besides, it was reported for the first time a total of 47 new therapeutic uses for 20 known plant species. Of 17 ailments categories, cancer was presented by 44 species, showing the highest FIC of 0.46. Marrubium vulgare L., Artemisia herba-alba Asso., Zingiber officinale Roscoe., and Juniperus phoenicea L. recorded the maximum fidelity value of 100%. Therefore, our study reveals strong ethnomedicinal knowledge shared by local populations living in the three regions studied. The medicinal species with a high FL could be promising candidates for identifying new bioactive molecules.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Kumar ◽  
Vikas Sharma ◽  
Sudesh Kumar ◽  
Vikrant Jaryan

The present study was carried out in some interior regions of Billawar in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory to collect the information of traditionally used and ethno-botanically important medicinal plants by the local communities. Proper identification of the plant species and their importance to the local people can provide useful information and play a pivotal role in efficient utilization of natural wealth. So, it is important to scientifically identify and document this natural wealth before they are lost forever. The field survey was conducted at different sites namely, Dewal, Billawar, Bhaddu, Sukrala, Koti Marhoon and Kishanpur of Kathua district from December 2019 to June 2020. During this study, a total of 64species of medicinal plants (including trees, shrubs herbs, and grasses) belonging to 40 families and 43 genera were identified and were commonly used by the local people to cure different diseases. Each recorded plant was identified for their economic importance and medicinal values for the treatment of diseases like headache, toothache, epilepsy, gastric problem, skin disorders earache, pneumonia, jaundice, etc. Therefore, the present work was an attempt to document and compute which includes the collection and compilation of different plant species of the region.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Pankaj Sharma ◽  
Sher Samant ◽  
Lalit Tewari

In the Indian Himalayan Region, the use of medicinal plants is still a tradition continued by local people or ethnic communities and Traditional Medicine Systems play an important role in daily health care of poor people. The use of plants as medicine is slowly increasing in the developed world because they have minor or no side effects. The present study was conducted in Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary of Himachal Pradesh as the total dependency of the stakeholders on nearby forests for medicinal resources. In the present study, we reported 371 plant species that are used by the people in and around Nargu WLS as medicine. Distribution of maximum species (297 spp.) occurred between 1801-2800 m zone and only 40 species were present above 3800m. Of the total medicinal species recorded, 163 spp. were native to the Himalayan region and 24 spp. native to the Himalaya and other biogeographically regions. Rests (184 spp.) were non-native. The most frequently cured disease category (108 spp.) was gastrointestinal disease. Stakeholders of the Sanctuary and surrounding villages have rich indigenous knowledge of the use of medicinal plants to maintain their primary health. Traditional herbal remedies are important and effective because many traditional uses are scientifically proven through phytochemical and pharmacological studies. However, a large number of plant species remain untested for bio-efficacy and toxicity. Such tests may reveal novel remedies that have bioprospecting potential. Moreover, the study emphasizes the need for the conservation of such precious medicinal resource of the area by managing and conserving the natural habitats, checking unscientific exploitation and by applying in-situ and various ex-situ conservation methods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-214
Author(s):  
Mostafa Ebadi ◽  
Rosa Eftekharian

Iran is an ancient country in the usage of medicinal plants and Ahar is known as one of the richest regions of medicinal plants. The traditional knowledge about medicinal plants is the basic step in many drug productions and these kinds of information should be documented through botanical investigations. The present study is the first survey conducted in this region and its primary point is to distinguish such plants and to present their application in traditional medicine. In this study, the data was gathered by talking with indigenous individuals to identify medicinal plants with local importance developed during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. Scientific names and therapeutic uses are also mentioned. The results obtained from the present study indicated that there were 46 medicinal species of 23 families in Ahar and local people mainly used Lamiaceae and Asteraceae then Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Zygophyllaceae medicinal taxa. Medicinal plants were mostly used to treat intestinal-digestive disorders, for cold treatment and for soothing pain. According to results, significant ethnobotanical data on medicinal plants gives premise information to future pharmacological and phytochemical studies. Also, this document can be utilized as a part of protecting indigenous knowledge.


Medicines ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwame Appiah ◽  
Clement Oppong ◽  
Hossein Mardani ◽  
Richard Omari ◽  
Sylvia Kpabitey ◽  
...  

Background: The in-depth traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is at risk of extinction due to the dependency on oral transmission, and as such, there is an urgent need to document such knowledge. This study aimed to document indigenous uses of medicinal plants among community members in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality. Methods: Data was collected in 2016 from community members and local herbalists in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality through a semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical tools and ethnobotanical indices, i.e., informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), and use value (UV) were used to analyse the data. Results: One hundred and six medicinal plants belonging to 45 families were reported to cure 68 different human diseases. The most frequently used plant part in this study was the leaves (52%). Decoction (57.5%) and oral administration (58.3%) were the most utilised herbal preparation and administration route respectively. Cleistopholis patens had the highest UV (0.54) with pain & fevers and skin diseases having the highest ICF values (0.88 and 0.85 respectively). Furthermore, new medicinal uses of Hilleria latifolia and ten other species were recorded for the treatment of the traditional local disease, aseram. Conclusions: The current knowledge and uses of medicinal plants are still high in the study area based on the high degree of consensus among informants. This study could allow for the preservation of knowledge and biodiversity of medicinal plants, both of which are threatened with extinction.


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