J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Nov 4;192:30-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.06.049. Epub 2016 Jun 25.
- 1Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300 KP, Pakistan. Electronic address: hajibotanist@outlook.com.
- 2Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300 KP, Pakistan. Electronic address: fbotany@yahoo.com.
- 3Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300 KP, Pakistan. Electronic address: aftabafzalkiani@yahoo.com.
- 4Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300 KP, Pakistan. Electronic address: zafar.hu@yahoo.com.
- 5Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300 KP, Pakistan. Electronic address: niazalitk@yahoo.com.
- 6Department of Plant Science, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Electronic address: shuja60@gmail.com.
Abstract
ETHNO PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Ethno medicinal traditional knowledge regarding the uses of indigenous medicinal plants used for various human digestive disorders are mostly known to the elder community members. As the young generation is not much aware about such vital traditional medicinal practice because they rely on elders.
AIM OF STUDY:
To document, accumulate and widely disseminate the massive indigenous knowledge of century's practiced therapeutic uses of medicinal plants by the local people living in this remote area.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
A
total of 63 local inhabitants (39 males and 24 females) were
interviewed through a structured questionnaire. The data obtained were
quantitatively analyzed through the use value (UVi), fidelity level index (FL%) and relative frequency citations (RFCs), consensus index (CI%) and informant consensus factor (FIC).
For novel uses all the plants were checked with previously published
articles on same disease by analyzing through Jaccard index (JI) and
Sorensen's similarity index (QS). Plants specimen were preserved,
mounted and labeled on the herbarium sheets, cataloged and deposited
with voucher numbers in Hazara University Herbarium, Mansehra, Pakistan (HUP).
RESULTS:
44
plant species belonging to 44 genera and 28 families were documented in
the current study. These medicinal plant species were used commonly as
an ethno medicine against 26 various digestive disorders
out of which most frequently occurred are; stomach ache, diarrhea,
indigestion, constipation and inflammation etc. Herbaceous plant species
were the dominant among plants studied which were 64% of the total
plants, followed by trees (20%) and shrubs (16%). Lamiaceae was the
leading family among collected medicinal plant species (13.6%). Maximum
medicinal plant species were used for treatment of stomach ache (11.7%),
diarrhea and indigestion (10.9% each). Most widely used parts were
leaves (41% citations), fruit and whole plant (12% citations each) for
medication of various digestive problems by the traditional drivers. Dominated medicinal plants with most use values were Ficus carica having (UVi=0.90) and Trifolium repens (UVi=0.84). Based on the RFC values, the most cited medicinal plant species by the traditional drivers
were Ficus carica (0.43) and Berberis lycium (0.41), while most
respondents percentage was noticed for same plant species calculated
through consensus index (CI%=42.9% and 41.3%) respectively. The
medicinal plant species with highest fidelity level was of Grewia
optiva, Juglans regia and Sorbaria tomentosa each cited 100% for
anthelmintic, easy digestion and Diarrhea respectively. Due to
representation by only single medicinal plant taxa (Nt=1), the digestive
diseases viz. cholera, colon cancer, emetic, internal injuries, kill
microorganisms, Soothing, tumor and urine suppression had maximum FIC
value. The analytical result reveals that 57% of medicinal plant
species were reported for the first time regarding their uses. new
medicinal uses of Anaphalis contorta, Caltha palustris, Pinus
wallichiana, Plantago himalaica were recorded for the first time from Pakistan
and Aralia cachemirica, Bupleurum longicaule, Pleurospermum stellatum,
Potentilla argentea and Juglans regia across the globe for currently
reported medicinal uses. Besides this, all the mentioned plant species
were reported for the first time for digestive disorders from Manoor Valley as no single study up-till now has been conducted ethno medicinally.
CONCLUSION:
The present study revealed the importance to document and launch list of all the possible plants that are used in traditional medicinal practices against digestive disorders
in the unexplored study area and to show the important medicinal plants
for future biological, phytochemical and pharmacological
experimentation regarding digestive problems.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Cultural drivers; Digestive disorders; Ethno medicine; Manoor Valley; Pakistan; Quantitative analysis
