An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used in Kilte Awulaelo District,Tigray Region of Ethiopia

Background

The Ethiopian people have been dependent on traditional medicine, mainly medicinal plants, from time immemorial for control of human and animal health problems, and they still remain to be largely dependent on the practice. The purpose of the current study was to conduct ethnobotanical study to document medicinal plants used to treat diseases of human and domestic animals in Kilte Awulaelo District in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data were collected between July and September 2011 through semi-structured interviews, ranking exercises and field observations. For the interviews, 72 knowledgeable informants were sampled using purposive sampling method. For the different ranking exercises, key informants were identified with the help of elders and local administrators from informants that were already involved in the interviews.

Results

The study revealed 114 medicinal plant species belonging to 100 genera and 53 families. The plants were used to treat 47 human and 19 livestock diseases. Of the species, the majority (74%) were obtained from the wild. Herbs were the most utilized plants, accounting for 44% of the species, followed by shrubs (29%). Leaf was the most commonly used plant part accounting for 42.98% of the plants, followed by roots (25.73%). Preference ranking exercise on selected plants used against abdominal pain indicated the highest preference of people for Solanum marginatum. Direct matrix ranking showed Cordia africana as the most preferred multipurpose plant in the community. Preference ranking of selected scarce medicinal plants indicated Myrica salicifolia as the most scarce species, followed by Boscia salicifolia and Acokanthera schimperi. According to priority ranking, drought was identified as the most destructive factor of medicinal plants, followed by overgrazing and firewood collection.

Conclusion

Medicinal plants are still playing significant role in the management of various human and livestock diseases in the study area with herbs taking the lead in the number of plants used in the preparation of remedies, which may be an indication of their relatively better abundance as compared to other life forms. Recurrent drought was reported to have seriously threatened medicinal plant resources in the District. Awareness is thus needed be raised among local people on sustainable utilization and management of plant resources. Ex situ and in situ conservation measures should be taken to protect the medicinal plants of the District from further destruction and special attention should be given to the medicinal plants that were indicated by preference ranking exercise as the most threatened ones.

     

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Wayu Tuka District,East Welega Zone of Oromia Regional State,West Ethiopia

Background

Himalayan forests are the most important source of medicinal plants and with useful species for the local people. Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) is situated in the interior part of the Garhwal Himalayan region. The presented study was carried out in Madhmeshwar area of KWLS for the ecological status of medicinal plants and further focused on the ethnomedicinal uses of these plants in the study area.

Methods

Ecological information about ethnomedicinal plants were collected using random quadrats in a random sampling technique along an altitudinal gradient in the KWLS. Information on medicinal properties of plants encountered in the present study was generated by questionnaire survey and was also compared with relevant literature.

Results

A total of 152 medicinally important plant species were reported, in which 103 were found herbs, 32 shrubs and 17 were tree species which represented 123 genera of 61 families. A total of 18 plant species fell into the rare, endangered (critically endangered) and vulnerable status categories.

Conclusion

The present study documented the traditional uses of medicinal plants, their ecological status and importance of these plants in the largest protected area of Garhwal Himalaya. This study can serve as baseline information on medicinal plants and could be helpful to further strengthen the conservation of this important resource.     

Analysis of household's energy consumption,forest degradation and plantation requirements in Eastern Tigray,Northern Ethiopia

This study examines the link between household's energy consumption, forest degradation and plantation requirements in Eastern Tigray. Data on household's fuelwood, cow‐dung, kerosene and electricity consumption in the study sites were collected from 557 urban and 114 rural households. Deforestation rate was estimated following FAO and Woody Biomass Inventory Strategy Planning Project (WBISPP's) conversion factors. The study showed that household's fuelwood consumption in urban areas (mean = 2.5 kg/day) was about 52% lower as compared to the rural villages (mean = 3.8 kg/day). The estimated area abandoned annually in the vicinity of urban areas as the result of urban fuelwood consumption varies from 217 ha around Maichew town to 12047 ha around Mekelle City. The estimated area abandoned in rural areas annually as the result of tree cutting for fuelwood also varies from 6.5 ha around Sinkata to 127 ha around Dergajen village. It is therefore recommended that an estimated annual tree plantation of area ranging from 286 ha around Maichew town to 21,684 ha around Mekelle city is required. Moreover, an estimated annual tree plantation of area ranging from 16 ha around Sinkata village to 229 ha around the Dergajen village is required taking the existing population into account.     

Ethnobotanical study and biodiversity of medicinal plants used in the Tarfaya Province,Morocco

BackgroundThis study was carried out among the inhabitants of the province of Tarfaya (Moroccan Center South), in order to make an inventory of the medicinal plants used in traditional herbal medicine by the local population.MethodsInformation was obtained by means of open interviews with local people using the questionnaires. The data was analyzed using Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Fidelity Level (FL) and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF).ResultsThe analysis of the results allowed us to identify 130 vascular plant species in 57 families with a significant representativeness of Lamiaceae (10%), Asteraceae (9.23%), Fabaceae (8.46%), Apiaceae (6.15%), Poaceae (3.85%), Solanaceae (3.07%) and Amaranthaceae (3.07%). These species are mainly used in the care of the digestive and genito-urinary disorders. The UV ranged from 0.01 (Aframomum melegueta) to 0.34 (Maerua crassifolia). The RFC ranged from 0.01 (Aframomum melegueta) to 0.32 (Maerua crassifolia). The highest FL (100%) was found for 38 species, while the highest values of ICF were recorded for gastrointestinal pains (0.972).ConclusionThis study revealed rich ethnomedicinal knowledge in the Tarfaya province. Furthermore, ethnobotanical analysis will provide data for further pharmacological studies.     

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used for cancer treatment in Kebbi state,North-west Nigeria

Kebbi state is endowed with medicinal plants that have been used by different tribes especially the Hausa-Fulani, Dakarkari and Gungawa to treat different ailments such as cancer for decades. Therefore, this study is aimed at documenting the medicinal plants used for treating cancer in Kebbi state. Demographic data, personal information of willing informants and information on plants used and mode of treatment was collected via administration of a structured questionnaire. Data was collected and analysed, whereas, cited plants were collected, identified and assigned voucher numbers. The study revealed a total of 48 medicinal plants across 25 different families. Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub ranked first with a citation frequency of 44.9%. The Hausa-Fulani tribes were predominantly the traditional medicine practitioners (53.6%). Plants parts used include leaf, bark, root and whole plant. Generally, the herbal medicine is prepared as a powder and mixed with local beverages (kunu or fura) and administered orally 2–3 times daily. Whereas, residues of the powder are topically applied. Future studies should investigate the antiproliferative potency, determine the mechanisms mediating the cytotoxic potency and isolate the cytotoxic compounds from the active frequently mentioned, scarcely investigated and uninvestigated plants.     

Limnological and ecological characteristics of tropical highland reservoirs in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

The semi-arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Tigray) have numerous small reservoirs that have been created by microdams in an attempt to provide water supply for irrigation and livestock drinking. Although the reservoirs have substantial added value to residents, their use as water resource is jeopardized by eutrophication and a high occurrence of blooms of toxic cyanobacteria. So far, there is no systematic information available on the limnological and aquatic ecological characteristics of these dams. We carried out a standardized survey of 32 reservoirs and assessed a wide set of morphometric, abiotic and biotic variables. The sampling was performed during two seasons, September–October 2004 (end of the wet season/start of the dry season) and April–May 2005 (towards the end of the dry season). Using multivariate analysis, we revealed dominating patterns of variable associations and compared the variability in these patterns among seasons. According to standardized PCA and RDA analyses, the most important axis of variation was mainly represented by a gradient in nutrients and altitude that was also positively associated with phytoplankton biomass, suspended matter and oxygen concentration, and negatively with water transparency. For most variables, correlations between the wet and dry season were weak, which suggests that individual reservoirs behaved rather differently in their response to seasonal changes. Nevertheless, a Mantel correlation (r = 0.32; P = 0.035) showed a weak but significant overall concordance in the variable association patterns among seasons. A number of reservoirs became very shallow or fell dry in the dry season, a process that was associated with an increase in suspended matter and conductivity and a decrease in transparency. These reservoirs contained lower amounts of fish and tended to be less eutrophic than the deeper, permanent systems, as they had lower levels of phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. With multiple regression analysis, we constructed most parsimonious models in an attempt to explain the variation in key biotic variables: phytoplankton and cyanobacteria biomass, cladoceran biomass, fish biomass and the abundance of submerged vegetation. Phytoplankton and fish biomass tended to be positively related with the concentration of total phosphorus, whereas cladoceran biomass was not associated with nutrient concentrations. The positive association of fish and phytoplankton with nutrient concentrations suggests a bottom-up control, whereas the absence of an association between zooplankton and nutrient concentrations may be indicative for top-down control. The biomass of cyanobacteria was negatively related to the biomass of cladocerans (Daphnia), which likely reflects a top-down effect. Most reservoirs were turbid. The occurrence and abundance of macrophytes tended to be positively related to water transparency and was negatively associated to TP and the amount of livestock frequenting the reservoirs. However, macrophytes were not limited to clear-water reservoirs. Handling editor: L. M. Bini     

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.

     

湖南江华瑶族药浴植物的民族植物学研究

瑶族民间药浴历史悠久,是重要的疾病预防和治疗手段,是我国重要的非物质文化遗产。江华瑶族自治县药浴植物丰富,药浴配伍独具当地特色。该文采用民族植物学研究方法对湖南江华瑶族自治县瑶族传统利用的药浴植物进行了调查,共收集整理了152种药浴植物,隶属于70科125属,记录了其瑶名、学名、入药部位以及功能主治等,并调查记录了部分常用药浴与产后药浴植物配伍。结果表明:(1)江华瑶族药浴植物中草本植物占明显优势,且多为全草入药,主要用于治疗风湿关节炎、跌打损伤、妇科病以及皮肤病等,常用的药浴植物多为祛风除湿的“风药”。(2)通过实地调查和访问调查发现,珍贵药浴植物种群规模因过度采挖和生境破坏而减小。(3)对比了广西、云南、湖南等地瑶族药浴植物的异同,探讨其背后的相关性和原因。作为非物质文化遗产的瑶族药浴面临诸多方面的威胁,其内部科学性仍有待探究,需进一步加强综合研究与合作,为其保护、传承和发扬提供保障。     

Traditional medicinal plant knowledge and use by local healers in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

The knowledge and use of medicinal plant species by traditional healers was investigated in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Traditional healers of the study area were selected randomly and interviewed with the help of translators to gather information on the knowledge and use of medicinal plants used as a remedy for human ailments in the study area. In the current study, it was reported that 27 plant species belonging to 27 genera and 18 families were commonly used to treat various human ailments. Most of these species (85.71%) were wild and harvested mainly for their leaves (64.52%). The most cited ethnomedicinal plant species wasAlysicarpus quartinianus A. Rich., whose roots and leaves were reported by traditional healers to be crushed in fresh and applied as a lotion on the lesions of patients ofAbiato (Shererit). No significant correlation was observed between the age of traditional healers and the number of species reported and the indigenous knowledge transfer was found to be similar. More than one medicinal plant species were used more frequently than the use of a single species for remedy preparations. Plant parts used for remedy preparations showed significant difference with medicinal plant species abundance in the study area.     

Humus Form Development during Forest Restoration in Exclosures of the Tigray Highlands, Northern Ethiopia

Forest restoration in protected exclosures has become a common practice to fight land degradation in the highlands of northern Ethiopia. Insights into ecosystem processes governing restoration in these formerly degraded areas are gained through the study of humus forms and factors influencing humus formation during vegetation recovery. Humus forms of 135 sample plots located in different land use types were morphologically described. The subsequent classification into six humus form types was based on principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Where areas are closed for a longer time, humus profiles are commonly more developed and higher organic matter accumulation is noticed as well as increased nutrient stocks. The combined effects of seasonal drought conditions and low fresh litter quality account for an overall slow decomposition, which explains the high importance of litter input for organic matter accumulation. Based on a correlation analysis, vegetation cover, litter production, litter quality, soil nutrient content, soil moisture, and topography were identified as important factors influencing humus formation. It is inferred that humus formation leads to improvements in soil fertility and structure, microclimate development, and soil protection and therefore forms part of the restoration processes taking place in exclosures.     

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Kani tribes of Pechiparai Hills,Western Ghats,India

BackgroundThe present study was conducted among the Kani, a tribe settled in the Pechiparai hills of Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, to document and quantify their traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of various human ailments.MethodsEthnomedicinal data were collected from the Kani by using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed by using use value (UV), informant consensus factor (F_ic), fidelity level (FL) and family use value (FUV).ResultsIn total, 138 species representing 126 genera belonging to 60 families were reported to have medicinal value and were extensively used by the tribe. Leguminosae was the most speciose family, including 14% (19 species) of identified species. Leaf (50%; 69 species) was found to be the part most used to prepare drugs; leaf extract in the form of juice (26%) was the most widely used preparation; and remedies were often administered orally (53%). The highest UV was recorded for Aristolochia indica (0.35) with 18 use reports, whereas the highest F_ic (0.09) was noted for the ailment category ‘fever’. The wide use of Curcuma longa has strong pharmacological evidence – that it is effective in treating various ailments.ConclusionThe present study was the first quantitative survey of the traditional use of medicinal plants by the Kani and will help in the conservation of this invaluable inheritance.     

Risk Factors for Maternal Mortality in Rural Tigray,Northern Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study

Background

Maternal mortality continues to have devastating impacts in many societies, where it constitutes a leading cause of death, and thus remains a core issue in international development. Nevertheless, individual determinants of maternal mortality are often unclear and subject to local variation. This study aims to characterise individual risk factors for maternal mortality in Tigray, Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based case-control study was conducted, with 62 cases and 248 controls from six randomly-selected rural districts. All maternal deaths between May 2012 and September 2013 were recruited as cases and a random sample of mothers who delivered in the same communities within the same time period were taken as controls. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify independent determinants of maternal mortality.

Results

Four independent individual risk factors, significantly associated with maternal death, emerged. Women who were not members of the voluntary Women’s Development Army were more likely to experience maternal death (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.04–4.11), as were women whose husbands or partners had below-median scores for involvement during pregnancy (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.14–4.18). Women with a pre-existing history of other illness were also at increased risk (OR 5.58, 95% CI 2.17–14.30), as were those who had never used contraceptives (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.37–4.85). Previous pregnancy complications, a below-median number of antenatal care visits and a woman’s lack of involvement in health care decision making were significant bivariable risks that were not significant in the multivariable model.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing maternal mortality need to focus on encouraging membership of the Women’s Development Army, enhancing husbands’ involvement in maternal health services, improving linkages between maternity care and other disease-specific programmes and ensuring that women with previous illnesses or non-users of contraceptive services are identified and followed-up as being at increased risk during pregnancy and childbirth.     

Community-based malaria control in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Community-based control activities have been a major component of the Tigray regional malaria control programme since 1992. A team of 735 volunteer community health workers treat on average 60,000 clinical malaria cases monthly during the high malaria transmission season. Ensuring access for the rural population to early diagnosis and treatment has contributed to a significant decrease in death rate in under-five children at the village level from 1994 to 1996. Mapping and geographic information system (GIS) technologies have been introduced to support planning for control by assessment of community-based coverage. With further development, GIS will be used in stratification, and to assess the impact of water resources development on malaria transmission and intensity.     

Discourses of Loss and Bereavement in Tigray,Ethiopia

Western trauma frameworks, such as PTSD-focused inventories and interventions, are embedded in a psychosocial discourse saying that highly distressing experiences must be expressed and confronted. This study, which is based on six months of focused ethnographic research in postwar Tigray, Ethiopia, reveals authoritative Tigrayan discourses that encourage people to avoid disclosing and expressing emotional pain. Dogmas of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, saying that grieving and crying would have negative physical and spiritual consequences, were found to have a broad consensus in the society. The ethnography suggests that the Tigrayan psychosocial discourses make sense and may be functional in their context, as the marginal socioeconomic conditions of Tigray force individuals to concentrate on their day-to-day struggle for survival. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for the cross-cultural applicability of conventional frameworks of Western trauma psychology.     

Ethnobotanical studies of plants of Charkotli Hills, Batkhela District, Malakand, Pakistan

A survey was conducted with the aim to document the indigenous information of Charkotli Hills, Batkhela District, Malakand, Pakistan. The area has rich vegetation and a high potential for ethnobotanical utiliza-tion. Information was collected on various traditional uses of 100 plants distributed over 49 families, of which 43 families were of dicot, 2 of monocot, 2 of pteridophyta, and 1 of gymnosperms. Most plants have more than one local use. Sixty-six plants were found to be medicinal species, 21 fruit and edible seed species, 11 furniture species, 18 fodder or forage species, 12 vegetable species, 12 fuel species, 11 thatching and building species, 5 hedge or fencing species, 5 timber wood species, 5 poisonous plants, 3 species used in ketchup, 2 fixed oil yielding species, 2 miswak species, 2 species for making sticks for cattle and defense purposes, 2 species cultivated for ornamental purposes, 2 species used as mehindi by girls, 1 irritant species, 1 species for the making of Salai (a little stick for applying 'surma' to the eyes), 1 species for tanning, 1 species used as refresher in milk pots, 1 species giving gum used as chewing gum, and 1 species used as insect repellent. The area is under heavy pressure of deforestation and overgrazing, which have reduced the regeneration of woody plants. Proper ecological manage-ment is required to protect the wildlife and ethnobotanical resources for the coming generations.