Uses of ethnomedicinal plants by the people living around Kitam Bird Wildlife Sanctuary,South Sikkim,India

The utilization of wild medicinal plants in primary healthcare system is still vital for mankind, particularly for people residing nearby the protected area. However, ethnobiological knowledge of indigenous people on plant usage is diminishing. The present study aimed at documenting the wild ethnomedicinal plants and to evaluate their importance in the healthcare among the local inhabitants in the fringe villages of Kitam Bird Sanctuary, South Sikkim, India. The methodology comprised interviews and questionnaire-based household surveys focusing on the informant's knowledge and experience in the use of wild medicinal plants against several diseases and ailments. Data was analysed using relative frequency citation (RFC), use value (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL%). A total of 23 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 20 families were recorded from the study area. Among the growth forms, herbs accounted the highest number of species (39%), followed by trees (30%), climbers (13%), ferns and shrubs with 9% each. Fruits have shown the highest use (20%), followed by leaves (16%) and whole plant. Terminalia chebula had the highest RFC (0.91) and UV (0.99), followed by Terminalia bellirica (RFC = 0.89, UV = 0.96) and Phyllanthus emblica (RFC = 0.84, UV = 0.91). Results indicate that the locals in the area had good ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants which indicates their dependency on plants for treating several ailments and diseases. Some unexplored species such as Calamus erectus, Laportea bulbifera, Pteris biaurita and Solanum viarum possessing high fidelity level have scope for further pharmacological investigation.     

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Ganta Afeshum District,Eastern Zone of Tigray,Northern Ethiopia

Background

Starting from the ancient time, the people of Ethiopia use medicinal plants as traditional medicine to heal different human and livestock ailments. This ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out in Ganta Afeshum District, Eastern Zone of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, to identify medicinal plant species used by the local community to treat various human and livestock ailments.

Methods

A total of 78 informants (54 men and 24 women) were selected to collect ethnobotanical information from four study sites. Among the 78 informants, 20 key informants were selected purposefully; the other 58 informants were selected randomly by lottery method. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations, guided field walks, and group discussions and were analyzed by preference ranking, paired comparison, direct matrix ranking, informant consensus factor, fidelity level (FL), use-value, independent samples t test, and Pearson correlation coefficients.

Results

A total of 173 medicinal plants were collected and identified that were distributed across 77 families and 156 genera. The family Fabaceae stood first by contributing 17 (9.8%) species followed by Lamiaceae and Solanaceae with 9 (5.2%) species each. Rhamnus prinoides was reported for the treatment of many of the described diseases. One hundred sixteen (67.1%) medicinal plant species were collected from natural vegetation, 34 (19.7) were from home gardens, 13 (7.5%) from farmland, and 10 (5.8%) were from natural vegetation and home gardens. The most widely used life form was herbs (69 species, 39.9%) followed by shrubs (58 species, 33.5%). The most commonly used part of the medicinal plants was the leaves followed by roots. The plants were prepared by grinding, powdering, squeezing, roasting, and burning and were administered through oral, dermal, nasal, anal, ocular, and vaginal, and on the surface of the teeth. The most commonly used applications were by drinking, smearing, eating, fumigation, and chewing. There was no difference between men and women informants, showing that the two sexes had similar knowledge in the use of traditional medicinal plants. Educational level and medicinal plant knowledge of informants were negatively correlated; whereas age and medicinal plant knowledge of informants were positively correlated.

Conclusions

Ganta Afeshum District is relatively rich in diversity of medicinal plant resources accompanied with a rich indigenous knowledge within the local communities to harvest and effectively use to prevent different human and livestock ailments. However, nowadays, deforestation, agricultural expansion, overgrazing, drought, and overexploitation are threatening these properties. Therefore, people of the study area should apply complementary conservation approaches (in situ and ex situ) for sustainable use of these resources and to prevent species extinction.

     

Ethnobotanical study on pesticidal plants used in Southwest Nagaland,India for the development of eco-friendly pest control system

BackgroundManagement of crop pests has been a great challenge around the world. In this study, the plants that are traditionally used as pesticides in southwest Nagaland were identified and documented. Pesticidal plants are an effective alternative to harmful synthetic pesticides and they may help in the formulation of a diverse group of organic pesticides.MethodsInformation on pesticidal plants was obtained through field study and semi-structured interviews. 360 informants from 24 villages were interviewed. Data were analyzed through quantitative tools – use value (UV), informants consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), and family use value (FUV). Phytochemical analysis of selected plants was done.ResultsIn total, 113 species representing 104 genera and 46 families were documented as pesticidal plants. Asteraceae was the most preferred family as a pesticide with 17 species. Herbs were recorded for 43% of use which was the highest among the habitats. Out of 113 species, 105 species were used as insecticides. Leaf (57.3%; 98 species) was the highest use plant part as a source of pesticides. The highest UV was recorded for Nicotiana tabacum (0.46) with 165 use reports. The ICF value was recorded from 0.96 to 0.97. In regards to FL, several potential pesticidal plants including Azadirachta indica, N. tabacum, Capsicum frutescens, and Curcuma longa were identified with 100% FL each. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of secondary metabolites like alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol, saponin, tannin, and terpenoid.ConclusionInhabited by a diverse tribal population, the southwest part of Nagaland is a hub of ethnobotanical knowledge. The present study was the first quantitative survey on the plants used as pesticides by the tribal communities of southwest Nagaland and would help modern pharmacology immensely in formulating organic pesticides.     

Children's traditional ecological knowledge of wild food resources: a case study in a rural village in Northeast Thailand

An ethnobotanical study was conducted from October 2005 to June 2006 to investigate the uses of medicinal plants by people in Zegie Peninsula, northwestern Ethiopia. Information was gathered from 200 people: 70 female and 130 males, using semistructured questionnaire. Of which, six were male local healers. The informants, except the healers, were selected randomly and no appointment was made prior to the visits. Informant consensus factor (ICF) for category of aliments and the fidelity level (FL) of the medicinal plants were determined. Sixty-seven medicinal plants used as a cure for 52 aliments were documented. They are distributed across 42 families and 64 genera. The most frequently utilized plant part was the underground part (root/rhizome/bulb) (42%). The largest number of remedies was used to treat gastrointestinal disorder and parasites infections (22.8%) followed by external injuries and parasites infections (22.1%). The administration routes are oral (51.4%), external (38.6%), nasal (7.9%), and ear (2.1%). The medicinal plants that were presumed to be effective in treating a certain category of disease, such as 'mich' and febrile diseases (0.80) had higher ICF values. This probably indicates a high incidence of these types of diseases in the region, possibly due to the poor socio-economic and sanitary conditions of this people. The medicinal plants that are widely used by the local people or used as a remedy for a specific aliment have higher FL values (Carissa spinarum, Clausena anisata, Acokanthera schimperi, Calpurnia aurea, Ficus thonningii, and Cyphostemma junceum) than those that are less popular or used to treat more than one type of aliments (Plumbago zeylanicum, Dorstenia barnimiana).     

Ethno-medicinal plants of tribal people: A case study in Pakyong subdivision of East Sikkim,India

BackgroundTribal people of India still use ancient traditional health care practices, using available plants in their surroundings. Traditional knowledge of medicine is vanishing due to urbanization and outmigration thus its urgent need to preserve this valuable knowledge.MethodsThis recent study was carried out in Pakyong subdivision of East Sikkim during 2016–17, and information was collected interviewing 71 informants of the Lepcha, Bhotia, and Nepali tribes.ResultsPresent study documenting 60 useful plant species belonging to 38 families, used for local health care needs including ten veterinary useful species. Herbaceous plants were used in high proportion (32 species, 54%) followed by trees (20, 33%), shrubs (20, 8%) and climbers (3, 5%). Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts and decoction was the common drug formulation among the inhabitants. The Informant consensus factor (ICF) ranged between 0.88 and 0.97, and fidelity levels in the study region were varied from 11.53% to 100%.ConclusionDocumentation of local plant uses by tribal people will be helpful in sustainable use of indigenous practices of medicinal plants, and further information may be used for pharmacological investigation and novel phytoconstituents isolation.     

Quantitative ethnobotany of medicinal plants uses in the Jhelum valley,Azad Kashmir,Pakistan

Indigenous knowledge provides information on phytotherapeutic potential of medicinal plants for basic health care mangements in local communinites. The present study was aimed to document folklore knowledge of ethnic communities, who are practicing the herbal medicines in the Jhelum valley (District Hattian), Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The information regarding folklore use of plants was collected from local communities through informed consent semi- structured interviews from 152 key informants. The ethnobotanical data were quantitatively analyzed using indices of use value (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC) and Informant census factor (ICF). A total of 113 medicinal plant species belong to 52 families were documented in the local communites of Jhelum Valley. The Asteraceae and Polygonaceae were the dominant plant families. The plant species hold potential folklore uses against hepatitis, stomach and respiratory problems, tooth ache, skin ailments and tumor treatment. The whole plants (32.52%), leaves ((21.14%)) were highly consumed plant parts and decoction (22.99%), powder form (18.39%) and infusion (13.79%) was the commonly used method for herbal formulation. The species with maximum use value was Beberis lyceum (0.80) and Valeriana jatamansi (0.60). The highest ICF value was obtained for disease catergories that is ear pain (1.00) followed by heaptic disorder (0.94) and urinary system disorders (0.89). The lowest ICF value was recored for nervous system disorders (0.44). The present study disclosed that traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is still widespread in ethnic people, but gradually decline in youngers. Documentation of newly documented plant species with their folklore uses shall uphold further phytochemical and pharmacological studies.     

Quantitative ethnobotanical study of therapeutic plants of Amarkantak hills in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve,Central India

Amarkantak is a natural heritage site with luxuriant flora on the hilly terrain of Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India. The Gonds, Baigas, and other ethnic communities in the area have a wealth of traditional knowledge and practice phytotherapy as health practitioners. The study was undertaken to document the plants of ethnopharmacological significance and their quantitative analyses. The traditional knowledge was collected from informants using open interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. Including 42 health practitioners, a total of 286 respondents were interviewed. The data were analyzed through quantitative indices like Use value (UV), Family use-value (FUV), Relative Importance (RI), Fidelity level (FL), and Informant consensus factor (ICF). The findings on sociocultural demography and therapeutic utilization of plants were discussed in the context of previously published information. The report explained that 173 species belonging to 148 genera and 65 plant families were used against 17 disease categories. The highly mentioned families are Fabaceae (11.5%), Asteraceae (6.9%), Apocynaceae (5.7%), and Lamiaceae (5.7%). The most cited species are Andrographis paniculata, Ocimum sanctum, Tinospora sinensis, Holarrhena pubescens, Cyanoglossum lanceolatum, and Azadirachta indica, within 0.66–0.68 UV. Herbs (45.6%), leaves (17%), and hot infusion (22%) were the most preferred plant forms, employed parts, and recipes for the preparation of drugs. The gastrointestinal illness was the leading cause of concern in the area with 95 reports and a maximum ICF (0.71). The Hypoxidaceae family with a single highly used medicinal plant had the highest FUV (0.54). Curcuma longa (RI: 61.42) was found to be the most suitable species for treating a wide range of body systems. A. paniculata was the most chosen therapeutic plant with the highest FL (90.9). The findings look into a few key plant species with high use values that deserve special attention in drug development. The report recommends that ethnomedicinal plants be studied further for scientific validation after in vitro and in vivo investigations in disease-induced animal models, as well as safety assessments and clinical trials, to ensure safe therapy.     

An Ethnobotanical survey of the beypazari, ayas, and Güdül district towns of Ankara Province (Turkey)

Dietary, therapeutical, and other ethnobotanical uses of the wild plants grown in the Beypazari, Aya§, and Güdül district towns of Ankara were investigated. Information was collected by oral interviews, with 400 individuals participating in 25 selected sites. The demographic characteristics of the informants were cross-linked with the recorded plant data for purposes of statistical analysis by SPSS software. The results indicated that 82% of the informants recognized the use of wild plants for food and home remedies. Both the breadth and scope of knowledge on the use of wild plants increased significantly with the advancing age of the informants, but there was no significant correlation between the knowledge of the informants and their educational status. Altogether, the authors recorded 192 uses for wild plants in the surveyed area; these emanating from 85 plant species belonging to 31 plant families. Among the most popular uses for wild plants were for medicines (115 citations) or food (70 citations). Only 7 plants fell in the miscellaneous category.     

An Ethnobotanical Survey of Inner-West Anatolia, Turkey

This study is focused on ethnobotanical usages of wild plants growing within the Afyonkarahisar province districts of Sinanpaşa, Hocalar and Dazkırı. Ninety local informants in 11 villages were interviewed. A total of 129 different usages of wild plants in the study area were recorded. Out of 650 plant species commonly present, 93 plant taxa (14.3%) belonging to 43 families were used for medicinal (52 citations), foodstuff (37 citations), fodder (14 citations), dye (six citations), firewood (five citations), construction materials (four citations) and miscellaneous purposes (11 citations). At least 15% of the information regarding ethnobotanical uses of wild plants was obtained by showing herbarium voucher samples to the informants. It was noted that Sideritis leptoclada and Verbascum stenostachyum are endemic to Turkey and their endangered status has markedly increased in recent years because of increased collecting for ethnobotanical purposes. Informants indicate that members of the younger generation have a much reduced interest in ethnobotanical knowledge and that this is a danger to the continued use of local plants.     

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in Terai forest of western Nepal

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Nepal Himalayas have been known as a rich source for valuable medicinal plants since Vedic periods. Present work is the documentation of indigenous knowledge on plant utilization as natural remedy by the inhabitants of terai forest in Western Nepal. METHODS: Study was conducted during 2010-2011 following standard ethnobotanical methods. Data about medicinal uses of plants were collected by questionnaire, personal interview and group discussion with pre identified informants. Voucher specimens were collected with the help of informants, processed into herbarium following standard methods, identified with the help of pertinent floras and taxonomic experts, and submitted in Department of Botany, Butwal Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal for future references. RESULTS: During the present study 66 medicinal plant species belonging to 37 families and 60 genera has been documented. These plants were used to treat various diseases and ailments grouped under 11 disease categories, with the highest number of species (41) being used for gastro-intestinal disorders, followed by dermatological disorders (34). In the study area the informants' consensus about usages of medicinal plants ranges from 0.93 to 0.97 with an average value of 0.94. Herbs (53 %) were the primary source of medicine, followed by trees (23 %). Curcuma longa (84 %) and Azadirachta indica (76 %) are the most frequently and popularly used medicinal plant species in the study area. Acacia catechu, Bacopa monnieri, Bombax ceiba, Drymaria diandra, Rauvolfia serpentina, and Tribulus terrestris are threatened species which needs to be conserved for future use. CONCLUSIONS: The high degree of consensus among the informants suggests that current use and knowledge are still strong, and thus the preservation of today's knowledge shows good foresight in acting before much has been lost. The connections between plant use and conservation are also important ones, especially as the authors note that neither the local inhabitants nor the government is addressing the potential loss of valuable species in this region.     

Ethnobotanic garden design in the Ecuadorian Amazon

This study focuses on the documentation of traditional plant usage among Kichwa, the indigenous people from Canton Loreto, Ecuador. The relationship between people, plants and the natural environment is demonstrated in an ethnobotanical garden at the Capacity Building Centre of the town. The construction site for the ethnobotanical garden is a 1.5 ha secondary forest. The forest was analyzed with a local key informant and 150 different useful species were found. The plant species recorded are mainly used for medicinal purposes, followed by edible plants, and finally by food sources for animals. Open-ended interviews were conducted with the aim of identifying the most commonly used plant species among the Kichwas. The results showed that Ilex guayusa ranked most popular, followed by Myroxylon balsamum, Cedrela odorata, Banisteriopsis caapi, and Urera caracasana. Focus groups were held and the most important plant applications were evaluated. The collected data illustrated that Kichwas attach great importance to medicinal and ritual plants, followed by plants used for handcraft. Edible plants rank afterwards, followed by dye plants and plants used for hunting. The above findings serve as the backbone of the design for the ethnobotanical garden. The garden acts as a tool to preserve and promote the knowledge of plants, focusing mainly on medicinal plants. The growing areas for the plant species were determined according to their importance to the Kichwas. The concept of the ethnobotanical garden conveys the holistic picture drawn from the investigation on people and plants of the Kichwas.     

Quantitative ethnobotany of two east Timorese cultures

This is the first time aspects of the ethnobotany of East Timor have been reported. The medicinal plant traditions of two distinct East Timorese cultures, the Laklei and Idate, were studied and compared using quantitative ethnobotanical methods. A total of 86 medicinal plant species were identified. The medicinal plant traditions of the Laklei and Idate cultures were compared using Trotter and Logan’s (1986) quantitative “informant agreement ratio.” On average, informant consensus was greater in Laklei, suggesting a medicinal plant tradition that is more defined than in Idate, where informants are more likely to use the same medicinal plants when treating the same usage categories. Furthermore, only 11 of the 86 medicinal plant species documented were used by both cultures, of which only six had similar mentions. These findings have important implications for the understanding of ethnobotany as they demonstrate how relatively closely situated cultural groups can have significantly different traditional knowledge systems.     

Indigenous utilization of termite mounds and their sustainability in a rice growing village of the central plain of Laos

Background

This study was conducted to identify medicinal plants and spices used for medicine by the community of Beni-Sueif, Upper Egypt.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data from local people was collected using direct interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results

Forty-eight plant species belonging to twenty-seven families and forty-seven genera were encountered during the study. Their botanical and vernacular names, plant parts used and medicinal uses are given. Results of the study were analyzed using two quantitative tools. The factor informant consensus indicated the agreement in the use of plants and the fidelity level indicated the ratio between the number of informants who independently suggested the use of a species for the same major purpose and the total number of informants who mentioned the plant for any use. The results of the factor informant consensus showed that the cardiovascular category has the greatest agreement, followed by the immunological, gastrointestinal and respiratory categories. The most important species according to their fidelity are: Hibiscus sabdariffa L. for the cardiovascular category; Trigonella foenum-graecum L. for the immunological category; Mentha piperita L. for the gastrointestinal category and Pimpinella anisum L. for the respiratory category.

Conclusions

Medicinal plants are still used for treatment in Beni-Sueif community despite the availability of prescribed medications. Documentation of this ethnomedicinal knowledge is important. Evaluation of pharmacological activity for the promising medicinal plants is suggested.     

Ethnobotany of the Sumu (Ulwa) of southeastern Nicaragua and comparisons with Miskitu plant lore

The Sumu (Ulwa) are one of three Amerindian groups of eastern Nicaragua. Their uses of 225 species of plants in 174 genera and 72 families were documented in two years of fieldwork. Included are 187 medicinals, 69 food plants, and 84 for other uses. Ulwa medicinals treat more than 25 human ailments, and most (80%) are native to eastern Nicaragua. Over 70% of the medicinals have a recognized bioactive principle, most are herbs (48%) or trees (33%). Leaves are the most frequently utilized plant part. Most medicinals are prepared as decoctions and are administered orally. Almost half of Ulwa food plants are domesticates, but only six are native to the New World tropics. Comparison of plant use between the Ulwa and southern Miskitu indicated that most of the species used for food (98%), medicinals (90%), and medicinal applications (80%) are the same. The Miskitu use more species, have a wider range of medicinal applications, and more unique plant uses than the Ulwa, presumably due to their larger territory. Differences in ethnobotanical usage between these groups seem to be more a reflection of scale than of remnants of cultural differences.     

Ethnomedicinal study of plants used for human ailments in Ankober District,North Shewa Zone,Amhara Region,Ethiopia

Background

Ankober District has long been inhabited by people who have a long tradition of using medicinal plants to treat human ailments. Overexploitation of medicinal plants coupled with an ever-increasing population growth, deforestation and agricultural land expansion threatens plants in the area. Hence, this study aimed at documenting and analyzing the plant-based ethnomedicinal knowledge of the people in order to preserve the dwindling indigenous knowledge.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation and walk-in-the-woods. Quantitative approaches were used to determine Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity level (FL) values. Statistical tests were used to compare the indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants among different informant categories.

Results

A total of 135 medicinal plant species belonging to 128 genera and 71 botanical families were reported to treat human diseases in the District. Families Asteraceae (12 species, 9%) and Fabaceae (10, 7.4%) were found to be best represented in the area. About 44% of preparations were reported to be obtained from roots. Significant difference (P?<?0.05) was observed on the mean number of medicinal plants reported by groups of respondents compared within age, literacy level and experience parameters. Highest ICF values were recorded for gastro-intestinal & parasitic and dermatological disease categories (0.70 each) indicating best agreement among informants knowledge on medicinal plants used to treat aliments in these categories. Highest fidelity level values were recorded for Zehneria scabra (95%) and Hagenia abyssinica (93.75%) showing conformity of knowledge on species of best healing potential. Podocarpus falcatus was ranked first in a direct matrix ranking exercise of multipurpose medicinal plants. The output of preference ranking exercise indicated that Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata was the most preferred species to treat atopic eczema.

Conclusion

The study revealed that Ankober District is rich in medicinal plant diversity and associated indigenous knowledge. However, anthropogenic factors coupled with acculturation and very poor conservation efforts threaten medicinal plant survival in the area. Promoting a complementary in situ and ex situ conservation strategy for medicinal plants of the District is highly recommended.

     

Comparative use patterns of plant resources in rural areas of South Africa and Zimbabwe

Documentation of use patterns of plants across national boundaries is of relevance in understanding the importance of plant resources to livelihood strategies of different ethnic groups. Plant resources have gained prominence as a natural asset through which families derive food, firewood, income, medicines and timber, enabling particularly poor communities to achieve self-sufficiency. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends in plant usage in South Africa and Zimbabwe. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted between January 2012 and January 2013 in the Limpopo Province, South Africa and the Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. The study used questionnaire surveys and interviews with a total of 143 participants to explore plant use patterns in South Africa and Zimbabwe. A total of 98 plant species were identified, with Zimbabwe contributing 70 species and 47 species from South Africa. The uses were classified into 15 categories, major use categories were firewood, food plants, medicine and timber. Food plant was a major plant use category in Zimbabwe, contributing 55.1%, followed by medicinal plants (36.8%), firewood (35.7%) and timber (31.6%). In contrast, firewood was the major plant use category in South Africa, contributing 18.4%, followed by food plants (17.3%), medicinal (14.3%) and timber (1.0%). Comparison of the two countries demonstrated remarkable differences in plant use patterns. The results showed that rural households in Zimbabwe were more reliant on plant resources than their counterparts in South Africa. Such a trend could be attributed to a close relationship between the local people, and their natural and agricultural environment leading to a rich knowledge base on plants, plant use and related practices. This comparative analysis strengthens the firm belief that utilization of plant resources represents an important shared heritage, preserved over the centuries, which must be exploited in order to provide further new and useful body of ethnobotanical knowledge.     

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Thanjavur and its surrounding (Tamil Nadu - India)

The present study aims to document data about the traditional uses of plants in health-care trainers among the local peoples of areas which may lead to natural drug invention development. There is urgency in recording such data for ethnobotanical studies using many statistical calculations were applied. Totally, 137 informants were selected from 8 villages by their traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. The collected specimens were statistically analyzed by Frequency citation (FC), Relative frequency citation (RFC), Use values (UV), Relative importance (RI), Cultural index (CI), Frequency index (FI) and Pearson correlation Co-efficient. Totally, 85 medicinal plants belonging to 73 families were documented through traditional people of Thanjavur for the treatment of 17 different ailments in which paste based herbal medicine is highly used (30%). Among the families, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Malvaceae are dominant species with each five, Solanaceae with four species, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Convulcacaeae, Aizoaceae, Apocynaceae, Lamiaceae and Rubiaceae with each three species and Capparaceae, Lythraceae, Anacardiaceae are recorded each two species and remaining families were one species respectively. In this quantitative ethnobotanical analysis, the high use values were recorded as Solanum trilobatum (1.31), Thespesia populnea (1.30), Cissus quadrangularis (1.26), Trianthema portulacastrum (1.76), and Hygrophila auriculata. Phyllanthus niruri showed high RI values than other plants. Pearson correlation coefficient between RFC and UV was 0.802 with P-value <1%. From this study, we can recommend that statistically proved medicinal plants like Solanum trilobatum, Thespesia populnea, Cissus quadrangularis, Trianthema portulacastrum, Hygrophila auriculata, Phyllanthus niruri and Achyranthes aspera were also needed for further investigation on pharmacologically which leads to natural drug invention development.     

An ethnobotanical study of the indigenous knowledge by the Rajbangshi community of Raiganj Block,Uttar Dinajpur district,West Bengal,India

BackgroundThe present study deals with documentation of medicinal importance of plants and traditional knowledge set harboring among the ethnic communities to utilize various plant parts for various health care practices. Twelve villages were surveyed primarily targeting the Rajbangshi communities of Raiganj Block, Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal, India.MethodsThe ethnomedicinal information was gathered through interviews using semi- structured questionnaires among the traditional healers (Kabiraj) of the Rajbangshi community. Identification and documentation of all the plants species have been completed following standard taxonomic procedure. The collected data were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed through different ethnobotanical indices like, use report, informant consensus factor and relative importance.ResultsA total of 76 plant species belonging to 40 families and 72 genera were reported to have been utilized for the treatment of a total of 42 types of ailments. Herbs (43%) were the major source of medicine while roots (31%) were most frequently used plant parts. Preparation of juice (55%) from plant parts accounted as most preferred method. Achyranthes aspera L. has the highest calculated relative importance (100) value. The average informant consensus factor value for all ailments categories was 0.75, indicating a high level of consensus among the interviewed informants.ConclusionThe present study clearly demonstrates that huge diversity of medicinal plants reported in the study area may immensely help in the development of novel drugs of natural origin if the traditional knowledge set of the Rajbangshi community is adequately nurtured.     

Traditional usage of medicinal plants among the local communities of Peshawar valley,Pakistan

Peshawar has a miscellaneous range of population that consequently brought their traditional knowledge of plants to the valley. Aims of the study were to report and document the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants resources of the Peshawar valley. The main objective of the study was to assess and document the ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants in the study area. Data collection was carried out from March 2017 to December 2017. About 250 informants of different ages were interviewed; most of them were aged people between 60 and 70 years. The interviews were conducted using structured questioner composed of various questions about the ethnomedicinal uses of plants. The data was quantitatively analyzed using quantitative indices like frequency citation FC, use value (UV), use report (UR), relative frequency citation (RFC) Fidelity level (FL) and Jaccard index (JI). A comparison with previous ethnomedicinal studies in order to report some novel uses. A total of 71 plants species belonging to 59 genera and 31 families were being used for various ailment treatments. Out of 31 families, Asteraceae and Amaranthaceae (7 species each) were found the dominant families. Regarding plant habit, herbs 63% were the leading growth form. Leaves were the most frequently used part of the plant in the preparation of medicines. The most frequent mode of preparation was decoction while the oral route of administration was the preferred mode of administration. A review of the active compounds of the reported plants was also documented to authenticate the data. Medicinal plants for high ranked diseases to be to screen for further ethnopharmacological and phytochemical studies. The medicinal flora of the valley is facing improper collection, overgrazing, browsing, deforestation, industrialization, construction of roads and buildings. Therefore proper conservation strategies may be adapted to promote the sustainable use of medicinal plants.     

Diversity of plant uses in two Caiçara communities from the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil

Caiçaras are native inhabitants of the Atlantic coast on southeastern Brazil, whose subsistence is based especially on agriculture and artisanal fishing. Because of their knowledge about the environment acquired through generations, Caiçara people can play an important role in Atlantic Forest conservation. An ethnobotanical study was conducted within two Caiçara communities (Ponta do Almada and Camburí beach, São Paulo State, Brazil), focusing on plant uses. In 102 interviews, 227 plant ethnospecies were quoted, mainly for food, medicine, handicraft and construction of houses and canoes. People from studied communities depend on the native vegetation for more than a half of the species known and used. Using diversity indices, plant uses are compared between studied communities and between gender and age categories within each community. We found quantitative differences in the knowledge about plants between gender categories for each kind of use (medicinal, food and handicrafts). Older and younger informants also have different knowledge about plants for handicraft and medicine, but not for edible plants.