Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the...

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Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around Indus River Sakina Mussarat, 1 Nasser M. AbdEl-Salam, 2 Akash Tariq, 1 Sultan Mehmood Wazir, 3 Riaz Ullah, 4 and Muhammad Adnan 1 1 Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat-26000, Pakistan 2 Arriyadh Community College, King Saud University, Arriyadh-11437, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Botany, University of Science and Technology, Bannu-28100, Pakistan 4 Department of Chemistry, Government College Ara Khel, FR Kohat-26000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Correspondence should be addressed to Muhammad Adnan; [email protected] Received 20 November 2013; Revised 1 January 2014; Accepted 10 February 2014; Published 20 March 2014 Academic Editor: John R. S. Tabuti Copyright © 2014 Sakina Mussarat et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. e objective of present study was to document and preserve ethnomedicinal knowledge use to treat different human ailments by traditional healers of Dera Ismail Khan region, Pakistan. Field work was conducted between February 2012 and January 2013 using semistructured questionnaires. Data was collected from 120 traditional healers through questionnaire survey. Traditional healers in the study area use 70 plant species mostly herbs (57%) for ethnomedicinal and other purposes. e highest F IC values (0.80) were obtained each for gastrointestinal and kidney problems followed by respiratory infections (0.72) and skin infections (0.73). ere was a significant correlation ( 2 = 0.950; < 0.01) between the age and traditional knowledge of respondent. Direct matrix ranking indicated Morus alba and Dalbergia sissoo as highly multipurpose and threatened species in the study area. e results showed high dependency of local inhabitants on medicinal plants in meeting their primary health care needs. Moreover, the traditional knowledge has been restricted to elder people. Protection measures should be taken in order to conserve precious multipurpose species that are facing overexploitation. Medicinal plants treating major ailments in the region may be subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological investigations for the identification of bioactive compounds. 1. Introduction Medicinal plants have important contributions in the health- care system of local communities as the main source of medicine for the majority of the rural population [1]. Out of the total 422,000 flowering plants reported from the world, more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes [2]. About 60% of the world population and 80% of the population of developing countries rely on traditional medicine. According to Bhat et al. [3], more than 4.5 billion people in the developing world rely on medicinal plants as components of their healthcare. e highest popularity of medicinal plant in rural areas is due to high cost of allopathic drugs and side effects [4]. In the early 1950s, up to 84% of Pakistani population was dependent on indigenous medicines for traditional health practices [5], but now this is practiced only in the remote rural areas [6]. Due to modernization, people are getting far from this treasure and this knowledge is eroding at a much faster rate [7]. Ethnobotanical studies in various areas of Pakistan have been carried out [812]. It is believed that such studies can constitute the starting point for the development of new drugs and useful substances [13]. e present study was aimed at investigating the tra- ditional utilization of plants of Dera Ismail Khan District located in the north-west region of Pakistan. e study area is the part of the country’s richest biodiversity centre and a source of ethnobotanical knowledge. Very few ethnob- otanical studies have been conducted in this region. e main objectives of the present study were (i) to identify and explore plant species that are used locally for the treat- ment and prevention of various diseases, (ii) to document traditional recipes from medicinal plants including meth- ods of preparation, dosage, and modes of administration, Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2014, Article ID 212634, 14 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/212634

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Research ArticleUse of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Livingaround Indus River

Sakina Mussarat1 Nasser M AbdEl-Salam2 Akash Tariq1

Sultan Mehmood Wazir3 Riaz Ullah4 and Muhammad Adnan1

1 Department of Botany Kohat University of Science and Technology Kohat-26000 Pakistan2 Arriyadh Community College King Saud University Arriyadh-11437 Saudi Arabia3 Department of Botany University of Science and Technology Bannu-28100 Pakistan4Department of Chemistry Government College Ara Khel FR Kohat-26000 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

Correspondence should be addressed to Muhammad Adnan ghurzanghotmailcom

Received 20 November 2013 Revised 1 January 2014 Accepted 10 February 2014 Published 20 March 2014

Academic Editor John R S Tabuti

Copyright copy 2014 Sakina Mussarat et alThis is an open access article distributed under theCreativeCommonsAttribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited

The objective of present study was to document and preserve ethnomedicinal knowledge use to treat different human ailmentsby traditional healers of Dera Ismail Khan region Pakistan Field work was conducted between February 2012 and January 2013using semistructured questionnaires Data was collected from 120 traditional healers through questionnaire survey Traditionalhealers in the study area use 70 plant species mostly herbs (57) for ethnomedicinal and other purposes The highest FIC values(080) were obtained each for gastrointestinal and kidney problems followed by respiratory infections (072) and skin infections(073) There was a significant correlation (1199032 = 0950 119901 lt 001) between the age and traditional knowledge of respondent Directmatrix ranking indicated Morus alba and Dalbergia sissoo as highly multipurpose and threatened species in the study area Theresults showed high dependency of local inhabitants on medicinal plants in meeting their primary health care needs Moreoverthe traditional knowledge has been restricted to elder people Protection measures should be taken in order to conserve preciousmultipurpose species that are facing overexploitation Medicinal plants treating major ailments in the region may be subjected tophytochemical and pharmacological investigations for the identification of bioactive compounds

1 Introduction

Medicinal plants have important contributions in the health-care system of local communities as the main source ofmedicine for the majority of the rural population [1] Out ofthe total 422000 flowering plants reported from the worldmore than 50000 are used for medicinal purposes [2] About60 of the world population and 80 of the population ofdeveloping countries rely on traditional medicine Accordingto Bhat et al [3] more than 45 billion people in thedeveloping world rely on medicinal plants as components oftheir healthcareThe highest popularity of medicinal plant inrural areas is due to high cost of allopathic drugs and sideeffects [4]

In the early 1950s up to 84 of Pakistani population wasdependent on indigenous medicines for traditional healthpractices [5] but now this is practiced only in the remote rural

areas [6] Due to modernization people are getting far fromthis treasure and this knowledge is eroding at a much fasterrate [7] Ethnobotanical studies in various areas of Pakistanhave been carried out [8ndash12] It is believed that such studiescan constitute the starting point for the development of newdrugs and useful substances [13]

The present study was aimed at investigating the tra-ditional utilization of plants of Dera Ismail Khan Districtlocated in the north-west region of Pakistan The study areais the part of the countryrsquos richest biodiversity centre anda source of ethnobotanical knowledge Very few ethnob-otanical studies have been conducted in this region Themain objectives of the present study were (i) to identifyand explore plant species that are used locally for the treat-ment and prevention of various diseases (ii) to documenttraditional recipes from medicinal plants including meth-ods of preparation dosage and modes of administration

Hindawi Publishing CorporationEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2014 Article ID 212634 14 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552014212634

2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 1 Map of the study area

(iii) to select candidate medicinal plant species of high pri-ority for phytochemical and pharmacological analyses in oursubsequent studies and (iv) to assess the plants conservationissues of the study area

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area The present study was carried out in theDera Ismail Khan often abbreviated to D I Khan which isa city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan (Figure 1)D I Khan is with an area 7326 km2 and is situated between31∘151015840 and 32∘321015840N latitude and between 70∘111015840 and 71∘201015840Elongitude [14] Most of the area of the district consists offlat dry alluvial plain commonly known as Daman whichmakes up more than 80 percent of the area where a largenumber of streams and hill torrents discharge water [15] DI Khan supports xerophytic and aquatic vegetation and theirassociated species of wild fauna [16] Dominant plant speciesareAcaciamodesta Acacia nilotica Calotropis proceraMorusalba and Eucalyptus camaldulensisThemaximum and min-imum mean temperature recorded during June is from 42∘Cto 27∘C while in winter season the minimum temperaturerecorded is 20∘C and maximum temperature is 40∘C [17]Precipitation mainly falls in two distinct periods in the latewinter and early spring from February to April and in themonsoon in June and July One of the most famous productsof this district is the ldquoVillage Dhakki daterdquo which is exportedto the Middle East United States and Europe This districtalso produces wheat sugar cane rice and a famous varietyof mangos Most of the population of the area is rural withlow literacy rate and they also lack modern health facilitieshence they are more dependent upon natural resourcesespecially plants for their healthcare and to compensate theirlow income as well

22 Data Collection Field work was carried out betweenFebruary 2012 and January 2013 A total of eight field visitswere made in four different seasons for data collection Eachvisit lasted over 20 days in the field A total of 120 informantswere selected on the basis of information provided by thelocal administrator and elder people of the study region

Table 1 Gender age group literacy level frequencies and occupa-tion of the interviewed people in the region

Total PercentageGender

Male 50 415Female 70 585

Age groups21ndash29 2 1630ndash39 8 640ndash49 22 18350ndash59 21 1860ndash69 23 19170ndash79 27 22580ndash89 17 141

Educational attainmentIlliterate 63 525Primary 31 258Middle 16 133Secondary 7 58University 3 25

OccupationFemales

Housewives 63 90Primary teacher 7 10

MalesShopkeepers 12 24Farmers 22 44Labour 8 16Primary teachers 8 16

Ethnic groups including Marwat Lodhi and Sial inhabitthe study area Marwat and Lodhi are more concentratedand are generally more aware of the traditional knowledgeThe selected healers were well known in the communitydue to their long practice in service provision related totraditional health care The informants were native-born orhad been living in the study area for a long time Prior todata collection group meeting was held with the help ofvillagersquos head in order to explain to the informants (i) themeof present study and (ii) assurance that their knowledgewould be a great contribution in conserving the indigenousknowledge of the area Prior to survey a semistructured ques-tionnaire was designed and pretested with five informantsto find out its suitability for the present study and later onmodified according to response of informants The revisedquestionnaire was used for gathering data from individualinformant about medicinal plants of the study area Thequestionnaire contained no strict questions and informantswere allowed to speak spontaneously and without pressureOur final purpose was to obtain the complete list ofmedicinalplants used andor known by each informant All interviewswere carried out in local language (Saraiki) of the studyarea In addition a total of four focus group discussionswith 30 informants in each group were also designed to gainfurther information on medicinal plants at the community

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3Ta

ble2Ethn

omedicines

ofthes

tudy

area

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Acaciamodesta

Wall

KUH-309

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andextractedjuiceis

used

orallyfork

idneypain

Mostly

2or

3tim

esad

ay

Acacianilotica(L)

Delile

KUH-310

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Bark

and

flowers

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andthed

ecoctio

nis

used

dentally

Flow

ersa

retie

don

affected

areaFlowersa

rebo

iledin

mustard

oiltheo

ilisappliedto

head

Ford

entalpurpo

sesitis

used

twicea

dayfor10

daysw

hileforo

thersitis

used

asneeded

Albizialeb

beck

(L)

BenthKU

H-311

Sirsirin

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Seeds

Seedsa

regrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndstrained

throug

hfin

ecloth

(havingsm

all

pores)E

qualqu

antitieso

fthe

strained

powdera

ndsugara

remixedTh

isisan

effectiv

ephytotherapytakenorallyfor

asthma

4gof

thismixed

powder

isused

twicea

dayfora

perio

dof

40days

Alliu

mcepa

LKU

H-312

Piaz

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulb

Grin

dtheb

ulbof

onionandmixitwith

water

anditistakenorallyforv

omiting

One

dose

isenou

ghfor

vomiting

Alliu

msativ

umLinn

KU

H-313

Garlic

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulband

leaves

Bulbpieces

arer

egularlyused

forh

ighbloo

dpressureL

eavesa

ndbu

lbarec

hewed

for

vomiting

Asn

eeded

Aloe

barbadensisMill

KUH-314

Kunw

arLiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Pulpof

Leaves

Twoleaves

arem

ades

pineles

sand

each

oneis

dividedleng

th-w

iseinto

2or

3slicesTh

ese

sliceso

fleavesa

long

with

common

saltare

givenorallyto

thea

nimalsPu

lpisdirectly

appliedon

burned

skin

Usually3do

sesa

regiven

each

after

48ho

ursa

ndalso

depend

ondisease

severity

AvenasativaLKU

H-315

Jou

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Partlyrip

enfruitisg

roun

dandmixed

with

somes

ugar

andcold

water

tomakes

yrup

and

istakenorallyas

laxativ

eAsn

eeded

Azadira

chta

indica

(L)

AJussKU

H-316

Neem

Meliaceae

Treen

onendemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

3gm

ofleaves

iscrushedandmixed

with

water

andcommon

saltto

makes

yrup

and

used

orallyforc

uringjaun

dice

Twospoo

nsof

syrupare

used

inthem

orning

after

breakfastand

inthe

eveningbefore

meal

Beta

vulga

risLinn

KU

H-317

Chuk

andar

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Powderisu

sedorallyto

treatdiabetes

Asn

eeded

Calotro

pisp

roceraA

itfHortKU

H-318

Akra

Ascle

piadaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Latexand

flowers

Plantlatex

isappliedexternallyon

ther

egion

ofsnakeb

iteand5ndash8flo

wersareu

sedata

timew

ithwater

forintestin

alpain

2-3tim

esdaily

for5

days

forintestin

alpain

Capparisdesid

ua(Forsk)

Edgew

KUH-319

Kareeta

Capp

aridaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

FruitYo

ung

shoo

tsand

bark

Equalamou

ntso

fdrie

dfruitand

sugara

regrou

ndto

makep

owder(safoof)a

ndused

orallyforrheum

atism

You

ngshoo

tiscrushed

andmixed

with

flour

andgivento

anim

als

Bark

iscrushedandappliedexternallyto

the

affectedarea

forw

ound

healing

One

teaspo

onof

powder

istakenwith

aglassof

water

twicea

dayfora

weekforrheum

atism

Capsicu

mannu

mL

KUH-320

Green

mirc

hSolanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Freshandun

ripefruitiseatenforc

ancer

Asn

eeded

Carallu

matuberculataN

Brow

nKU

H-321

Chun

gaAp

ocyn

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Coo

kitas

simplev

egetableford

iabetic

scontroland

also

itiseatendirectlyform

any

purposes

Asn

eeded

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineTa

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Chenopodium

album

LKU

H-322

Bathu

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

root

Extractthe

juicefrom

theirleavesw

hich

istakenorallyas

alaxativeDrie

dleaves

paste

isused

foru

rinarypain

Asn

eeded

Cicera

rietin

umLinn

KU

H-323

Channa

Papilio

naceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

seeds

25gm

ofseed

coat(te

sta)o

froaste

dgram

sis

soaked

in250g

ofwater

atnightand

crushed

inthem

orning

andstrainedTh

estrained

water

istakenorally

Thisph

ytotherapy

isconsidered

tobe

useful

forc

onstipatio

n

Asn

eeded

Cichorium

intybu

sL

KUH-324

Kasni

Asteraceae

Herb

Wild

Who

leplant

Freshplantsareb

oiledandsugarisa

dded

todecoctionto

form

syrupandused

orallyfor

stomach

Syrupused

twicea

dayfor

aperiodas

needed

Cirsium

arvense(L)

ScopKU

H-325

Leh

Asteraceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Extracto

fleavesu

sedfora

bdom

inalpain

ofcattle

Asn

eeded

Citru

lluscolocynthis(L)

KUH-326

Karthu

ma

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

makesafoofa

nduse

itorallyforc

onstipatio

nAsn

eeded

Citru

smedica

Linn

KU

H-327

Nim

boRu

taceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

leaves

Fruitextractismixed

with

watersaltand

sugara

ndused

orallyto

controlblood

pressure

andvomiting

Fruitextractism

ixed

with

honeyandfre

shmilk

tomakeitspaste

andappliedon

face

forp

imples

Forskinthep

asteisused

atnightfor

onem

onth

foro

ther

purposesitis

used

asneeded

Cleomeb

rachycarpa

VahlK

UH-328

Gandi

booti

Capp

aridaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsdriedun

dershade

areg

roun

dto

make

powderTh

epurep

owderisu

sedorallyfor

abdo

minalpain

Asn

eeded

Convolvulusa

rvensis

LKU

H-329

Wanvehri

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

5kgplants

driedun

dershadeare

mixed

with

12literso

fwater

atnighttomakes

yrup

and

used

orallyforskindiseases

Inthem

orning

onec

upof

thiswater

isused

onem

ptysto

machor

isused

thric

eadayfora

perio

das

needed

Cordiadichotom

aFo

rsterf

KUH-330

Lasora

Boraginaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

Eatin

gof

fruitas

neededbeforem

ealis

recommendedforthe

treatmento

fmasculin

esexu

alweakn

ess

Asn

eeded

Coria

ndrum

sativ

umL

KUH-331

Dhania

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

and

fruits

Abou

t50g

ofdriedfruitisb

oiledin

oneliter

ofwater

tillh

alfo

fthe

water

isleft

The

decoctionisused

fora

sthm

aand

coug

hFreshleaves

areg

roun

dwith

minttomake

powdera

ndused

orallyford

iuretic

purposes

Depends

upon

disease

severity

Cucumissativ

usLinn

KUH-332

Kheera

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruits

Duringsevere

fevertheirpieces

arer

ubbedon

thes

oleo

fthe

feetandalso

good

ford

igestio

nAsrequired

Cuscutareflexa

Roxb

KUH-333

Loot

booti

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsared

riedandbu

rntTh

eash

isapplied

tothea

ffected

area

Asn

eeded

Cymbopogon

jawa

rancusa

(Jones)Schu

ltKU

H-334

Khawi

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Root

Upp

erpartso

fthe

rootsa

rebo

iledin

water

Thew

ater

isstr

ainedandisgivenorallyto

the

child

renalon

gwith

sugarfor

dyspepsia

and

typh

oid

2-3tim

esdaily

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5Ta

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Dau

cuscarotaL

KUH-335

Gajar

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Ediblepo

rtionincreasessight

visio

nAs

needed

DalbergiasissooRo

xb

KUH-336

Tali

Fabaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

70gof

youn

gleaves

ofbu

dsiscrushedOne

glasso

fwater

isaddedto

itandstrainedTh

isisuseful

forp

ilesjaun

diceand

thefeelin

gof

hotnessinsoleof

thefeet

Thes

trainedwater

istakendaily

andcontinued

for10days

DaturametelL

KUH-337

Datura

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Roosttheirleaves

andinhaletheirsmokefor

thetreatmento

fasth

maTh

eirseeds

areu

sed

asexpectorantanddo

noteatitin

excess

amou

ntotherwise

itwill

belethal

Asn

eeded

ErucasativaMill

KUH-338

Usoo

Brassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Aeria

lparts

5kgyoun

gbranches

alon

gwith

leaves

are

boiledin

15kg

water

anddecoctionis

obtainedTh

en5k

gmilletflo

urismixed

with

thed

ecoctio

nandisgivenorallyto

theh

orses

Asn

eeded

Eucalyptus

camaldu

lensis

Dehnh

KU

H-339

Safeda

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leafandbark

Tend

ershoo

tand

youn

gleaves

arec

rushed

andtheirsmellgives

tempo

rary

reliefin

coug

hAsn

eeded

Eugeniajambolana

Linn

KU

H-340

Jaman

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

and

fruit

Dry

then

onediblepo

rtionof

theirfruitand

then

grinditandtake

1-2spoo

nsdaily

for3

daysitw

illsto

pthes

everes

tomachprob

lems

andalso

thispo

wderisu

sedforthe

treatment

ofdiabetics

Twicea

day

Fagoniacretica

LKU

H-341

Dhaman

Zygoph

yllaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantisc

rushed

anddecoctionistakenwith

water

forp

ilesa

ndurinaryinfection

1teaspoo

nof

powderis

takenwith

breadthric

eaday

Ficusb

enghalensis

LKU

H-342

Bohirbargad

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Fruitdriedun

dershadeisg

roun

dto

form

powderTh

ispo

wderisu

sedorallyto

treat

abdo

minalpain

Takenwith

water

twicein

day

Ficuscarica

LKU

H-343

Anjeer

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

2ndash4fig

s(fruit)ares

oakedin

water

ormilk

atnightand

used

inthem

orning

onem

pty

stomachTh

isisconsidered

tobe

very

effectiv

efor

thetreatmento

fpilesFruitis

used

toremovek

idneysto

ne

Usedin

them

orning

onem

ptysto

machfor10

days

FicusreligiosaL

KUH-344

Peepal

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitand

bark

Burn

theb

arkandmakep

owderfrom

this

coalbark

andtake

orally5gram

sofitw

ithwater

ford

iarrho

eaFruitisused

forw

ound

healing

Asn

eeded

Foenicu

lum

vulga

reMill

KUH-345

Saun

fAp

iaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Equalquantities

offenn

elfruitcoria

nder

fruitandsugara

remixed

andgrou

ndtogether

tomakep

owdera

ndrecommended

ascarm

inativeFenn

elfruitfre

shmintleaves

andgreenteaa

rebo

iledused

forv

omiting

Thep

owderisu

sedtwice

aday

after

mealas

carm

inativea

ndfor

vomiting

andform

enses

pain

them

ixture

isused

twicea

day

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

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Diabetes ResearchJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 2: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Figure 1 Map of the study area

(iii) to select candidate medicinal plant species of high pri-ority for phytochemical and pharmacological analyses in oursubsequent studies and (iv) to assess the plants conservationissues of the study area

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area The present study was carried out in theDera Ismail Khan often abbreviated to D I Khan which isa city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan (Figure 1)D I Khan is with an area 7326 km2 and is situated between31∘151015840 and 32∘321015840N latitude and between 70∘111015840 and 71∘201015840Elongitude [14] Most of the area of the district consists offlat dry alluvial plain commonly known as Daman whichmakes up more than 80 percent of the area where a largenumber of streams and hill torrents discharge water [15] DI Khan supports xerophytic and aquatic vegetation and theirassociated species of wild fauna [16] Dominant plant speciesareAcaciamodesta Acacia nilotica Calotropis proceraMorusalba and Eucalyptus camaldulensisThemaximum and min-imum mean temperature recorded during June is from 42∘Cto 27∘C while in winter season the minimum temperaturerecorded is 20∘C and maximum temperature is 40∘C [17]Precipitation mainly falls in two distinct periods in the latewinter and early spring from February to April and in themonsoon in June and July One of the most famous productsof this district is the ldquoVillage Dhakki daterdquo which is exportedto the Middle East United States and Europe This districtalso produces wheat sugar cane rice and a famous varietyof mangos Most of the population of the area is rural withlow literacy rate and they also lack modern health facilitieshence they are more dependent upon natural resourcesespecially plants for their healthcare and to compensate theirlow income as well

22 Data Collection Field work was carried out betweenFebruary 2012 and January 2013 A total of eight field visitswere made in four different seasons for data collection Eachvisit lasted over 20 days in the field A total of 120 informantswere selected on the basis of information provided by thelocal administrator and elder people of the study region

Table 1 Gender age group literacy level frequencies and occupa-tion of the interviewed people in the region

Total PercentageGender

Male 50 415Female 70 585

Age groups21ndash29 2 1630ndash39 8 640ndash49 22 18350ndash59 21 1860ndash69 23 19170ndash79 27 22580ndash89 17 141

Educational attainmentIlliterate 63 525Primary 31 258Middle 16 133Secondary 7 58University 3 25

OccupationFemales

Housewives 63 90Primary teacher 7 10

MalesShopkeepers 12 24Farmers 22 44Labour 8 16Primary teachers 8 16

Ethnic groups including Marwat Lodhi and Sial inhabitthe study area Marwat and Lodhi are more concentratedand are generally more aware of the traditional knowledgeThe selected healers were well known in the communitydue to their long practice in service provision related totraditional health care The informants were native-born orhad been living in the study area for a long time Prior todata collection group meeting was held with the help ofvillagersquos head in order to explain to the informants (i) themeof present study and (ii) assurance that their knowledgewould be a great contribution in conserving the indigenousknowledge of the area Prior to survey a semistructured ques-tionnaire was designed and pretested with five informantsto find out its suitability for the present study and later onmodified according to response of informants The revisedquestionnaire was used for gathering data from individualinformant about medicinal plants of the study area Thequestionnaire contained no strict questions and informantswere allowed to speak spontaneously and without pressureOur final purpose was to obtain the complete list ofmedicinalplants used andor known by each informant All interviewswere carried out in local language (Saraiki) of the studyarea In addition a total of four focus group discussionswith 30 informants in each group were also designed to gainfurther information on medicinal plants at the community

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3Ta

ble2Ethn

omedicines

ofthes

tudy

area

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Acaciamodesta

Wall

KUH-309

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andextractedjuiceis

used

orallyfork

idneypain

Mostly

2or

3tim

esad

ay

Acacianilotica(L)

Delile

KUH-310

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Bark

and

flowers

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andthed

ecoctio

nis

used

dentally

Flow

ersa

retie

don

affected

areaFlowersa

rebo

iledin

mustard

oiltheo

ilisappliedto

head

Ford

entalpurpo

sesitis

used

twicea

dayfor10

daysw

hileforo

thersitis

used

asneeded

Albizialeb

beck

(L)

BenthKU

H-311

Sirsirin

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Seeds

Seedsa

regrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndstrained

throug

hfin

ecloth

(havingsm

all

pores)E

qualqu

antitieso

fthe

strained

powdera

ndsugara

remixedTh

isisan

effectiv

ephytotherapytakenorallyfor

asthma

4gof

thismixed

powder

isused

twicea

dayfora

perio

dof

40days

Alliu

mcepa

LKU

H-312

Piaz

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulb

Grin

dtheb

ulbof

onionandmixitwith

water

anditistakenorallyforv

omiting

One

dose

isenou

ghfor

vomiting

Alliu

msativ

umLinn

KU

H-313

Garlic

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulband

leaves

Bulbpieces

arer

egularlyused

forh

ighbloo

dpressureL

eavesa

ndbu

lbarec

hewed

for

vomiting

Asn

eeded

Aloe

barbadensisMill

KUH-314

Kunw

arLiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Pulpof

Leaves

Twoleaves

arem

ades

pineles

sand

each

oneis

dividedleng

th-w

iseinto

2or

3slicesTh

ese

sliceso

fleavesa

long

with

common

saltare

givenorallyto

thea

nimalsPu

lpisdirectly

appliedon

burned

skin

Usually3do

sesa

regiven

each

after

48ho

ursa

ndalso

depend

ondisease

severity

AvenasativaLKU

H-315

Jou

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Partlyrip

enfruitisg

roun

dandmixed

with

somes

ugar

andcold

water

tomakes

yrup

and

istakenorallyas

laxativ

eAsn

eeded

Azadira

chta

indica

(L)

AJussKU

H-316

Neem

Meliaceae

Treen

onendemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

3gm

ofleaves

iscrushedandmixed

with

water

andcommon

saltto

makes

yrup

and

used

orallyforc

uringjaun

dice

Twospoo

nsof

syrupare

used

inthem

orning

after

breakfastand

inthe

eveningbefore

meal

Beta

vulga

risLinn

KU

H-317

Chuk

andar

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Powderisu

sedorallyto

treatdiabetes

Asn

eeded

Calotro

pisp

roceraA

itfHortKU

H-318

Akra

Ascle

piadaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Latexand

flowers

Plantlatex

isappliedexternallyon

ther

egion

ofsnakeb

iteand5ndash8flo

wersareu

sedata

timew

ithwater

forintestin

alpain

2-3tim

esdaily

for5

days

forintestin

alpain

Capparisdesid

ua(Forsk)

Edgew

KUH-319

Kareeta

Capp

aridaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

FruitYo

ung

shoo

tsand

bark

Equalamou

ntso

fdrie

dfruitand

sugara

regrou

ndto

makep

owder(safoof)a

ndused

orallyforrheum

atism

You

ngshoo

tiscrushed

andmixed

with

flour

andgivento

anim

als

Bark

iscrushedandappliedexternallyto

the

affectedarea

forw

ound

healing

One

teaspo

onof

powder

istakenwith

aglassof

water

twicea

dayfora

weekforrheum

atism

Capsicu

mannu

mL

KUH-320

Green

mirc

hSolanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Freshandun

ripefruitiseatenforc

ancer

Asn

eeded

Carallu

matuberculataN

Brow

nKU

H-321

Chun

gaAp

ocyn

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Coo

kitas

simplev

egetableford

iabetic

scontroland

also

itiseatendirectlyform

any

purposes

Asn

eeded

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineTa

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Chenopodium

album

LKU

H-322

Bathu

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

root

Extractthe

juicefrom

theirleavesw

hich

istakenorallyas

alaxativeDrie

dleaves

paste

isused

foru

rinarypain

Asn

eeded

Cicera

rietin

umLinn

KU

H-323

Channa

Papilio

naceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

seeds

25gm

ofseed

coat(te

sta)o

froaste

dgram

sis

soaked

in250g

ofwater

atnightand

crushed

inthem

orning

andstrainedTh

estrained

water

istakenorally

Thisph

ytotherapy

isconsidered

tobe

useful

forc

onstipatio

n

Asn

eeded

Cichorium

intybu

sL

KUH-324

Kasni

Asteraceae

Herb

Wild

Who

leplant

Freshplantsareb

oiledandsugarisa

dded

todecoctionto

form

syrupandused

orallyfor

stomach

Syrupused

twicea

dayfor

aperiodas

needed

Cirsium

arvense(L)

ScopKU

H-325

Leh

Asteraceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Extracto

fleavesu

sedfora

bdom

inalpain

ofcattle

Asn

eeded

Citru

lluscolocynthis(L)

KUH-326

Karthu

ma

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

makesafoofa

nduse

itorallyforc

onstipatio

nAsn

eeded

Citru

smedica

Linn

KU

H-327

Nim

boRu

taceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

leaves

Fruitextractismixed

with

watersaltand

sugara

ndused

orallyto

controlblood

pressure

andvomiting

Fruitextractism

ixed

with

honeyandfre

shmilk

tomakeitspaste

andappliedon

face

forp

imples

Forskinthep

asteisused

atnightfor

onem

onth

foro

ther

purposesitis

used

asneeded

Cleomeb

rachycarpa

VahlK

UH-328

Gandi

booti

Capp

aridaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsdriedun

dershade

areg

roun

dto

make

powderTh

epurep

owderisu

sedorallyfor

abdo

minalpain

Asn

eeded

Convolvulusa

rvensis

LKU

H-329

Wanvehri

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

5kgplants

driedun

dershadeare

mixed

with

12literso

fwater

atnighttomakes

yrup

and

used

orallyforskindiseases

Inthem

orning

onec

upof

thiswater

isused

onem

ptysto

machor

isused

thric

eadayfora

perio

das

needed

Cordiadichotom

aFo

rsterf

KUH-330

Lasora

Boraginaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

Eatin

gof

fruitas

neededbeforem

ealis

recommendedforthe

treatmento

fmasculin

esexu

alweakn

ess

Asn

eeded

Coria

ndrum

sativ

umL

KUH-331

Dhania

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

and

fruits

Abou

t50g

ofdriedfruitisb

oiledin

oneliter

ofwater

tillh

alfo

fthe

water

isleft

The

decoctionisused

fora

sthm

aand

coug

hFreshleaves

areg

roun

dwith

minttomake

powdera

ndused

orallyford

iuretic

purposes

Depends

upon

disease

severity

Cucumissativ

usLinn

KUH-332

Kheera

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruits

Duringsevere

fevertheirpieces

arer

ubbedon

thes

oleo

fthe

feetandalso

good

ford

igestio

nAsrequired

Cuscutareflexa

Roxb

KUH-333

Loot

booti

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsared

riedandbu

rntTh

eash

isapplied

tothea

ffected

area

Asn

eeded

Cymbopogon

jawa

rancusa

(Jones)Schu

ltKU

H-334

Khawi

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Root

Upp

erpartso

fthe

rootsa

rebo

iledin

water

Thew

ater

isstr

ainedandisgivenorallyto

the

child

renalon

gwith

sugarfor

dyspepsia

and

typh

oid

2-3tim

esdaily

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5Ta

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Dau

cuscarotaL

KUH-335

Gajar

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Ediblepo

rtionincreasessight

visio

nAs

needed

DalbergiasissooRo

xb

KUH-336

Tali

Fabaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

70gof

youn

gleaves

ofbu

dsiscrushedOne

glasso

fwater

isaddedto

itandstrainedTh

isisuseful

forp

ilesjaun

diceand

thefeelin

gof

hotnessinsoleof

thefeet

Thes

trainedwater

istakendaily

andcontinued

for10days

DaturametelL

KUH-337

Datura

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Roosttheirleaves

andinhaletheirsmokefor

thetreatmento

fasth

maTh

eirseeds

areu

sed

asexpectorantanddo

noteatitin

excess

amou

ntotherwise

itwill

belethal

Asn

eeded

ErucasativaMill

KUH-338

Usoo

Brassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Aeria

lparts

5kgyoun

gbranches

alon

gwith

leaves

are

boiledin

15kg

water

anddecoctionis

obtainedTh

en5k

gmilletflo

urismixed

with

thed

ecoctio

nandisgivenorallyto

theh

orses

Asn

eeded

Eucalyptus

camaldu

lensis

Dehnh

KU

H-339

Safeda

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leafandbark

Tend

ershoo

tand

youn

gleaves

arec

rushed

andtheirsmellgives

tempo

rary

reliefin

coug

hAsn

eeded

Eugeniajambolana

Linn

KU

H-340

Jaman

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

and

fruit

Dry

then

onediblepo

rtionof

theirfruitand

then

grinditandtake

1-2spoo

nsdaily

for3

daysitw

illsto

pthes

everes

tomachprob

lems

andalso

thispo

wderisu

sedforthe

treatment

ofdiabetics

Twicea

day

Fagoniacretica

LKU

H-341

Dhaman

Zygoph

yllaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantisc

rushed

anddecoctionistakenwith

water

forp

ilesa

ndurinaryinfection

1teaspoo

nof

powderis

takenwith

breadthric

eaday

Ficusb

enghalensis

LKU

H-342

Bohirbargad

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Fruitdriedun

dershadeisg

roun

dto

form

powderTh

ispo

wderisu

sedorallyto

treat

abdo

minalpain

Takenwith

water

twicein

day

Ficuscarica

LKU

H-343

Anjeer

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

2ndash4fig

s(fruit)ares

oakedin

water

ormilk

atnightand

used

inthem

orning

onem

pty

stomachTh

isisconsidered

tobe

very

effectiv

efor

thetreatmento

fpilesFruitis

used

toremovek

idneysto

ne

Usedin

them

orning

onem

ptysto

machfor10

days

FicusreligiosaL

KUH-344

Peepal

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitand

bark

Burn

theb

arkandmakep

owderfrom

this

coalbark

andtake

orally5gram

sofitw

ithwater

ford

iarrho

eaFruitisused

forw

ound

healing

Asn

eeded

Foenicu

lum

vulga

reMill

KUH-345

Saun

fAp

iaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Equalquantities

offenn

elfruitcoria

nder

fruitandsugara

remixed

andgrou

ndtogether

tomakep

owdera

ndrecommended

ascarm

inativeFenn

elfruitfre

shmintleaves

andgreenteaa

rebo

iledused

forv

omiting

Thep

owderisu

sedtwice

aday

after

mealas

carm

inativea

ndfor

vomiting

andform

enses

pain

them

ixture

isused

twicea

day

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Disease Markers

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OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

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PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 3: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3Ta

ble2Ethn

omedicines

ofthes

tudy

area

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Acaciamodesta

Wall

KUH-309

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andextractedjuiceis

used

orallyfork

idneypain

Mostly

2or

3tim

esad

ay

Acacianilotica(L)

Delile

KUH-310

Kikar

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Bark

and

flowers

Bark

isbo

iledin

water

andthed

ecoctio

nis

used

dentally

Flow

ersa

retie

don

affected

areaFlowersa

rebo

iledin

mustard

oiltheo

ilisappliedto

head

Ford

entalpurpo

sesitis

used

twicea

dayfor10

daysw

hileforo

thersitis

used

asneeded

Albizialeb

beck

(L)

BenthKU

H-311

Sirsirin

Mim

osaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Seeds

Seedsa

regrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndstrained

throug

hfin

ecloth

(havingsm

all

pores)E

qualqu

antitieso

fthe

strained

powdera

ndsugara

remixedTh

isisan

effectiv

ephytotherapytakenorallyfor

asthma

4gof

thismixed

powder

isused

twicea

dayfora

perio

dof

40days

Alliu

mcepa

LKU

H-312

Piaz

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulb

Grin

dtheb

ulbof

onionandmixitwith

water

anditistakenorallyforv

omiting

One

dose

isenou

ghfor

vomiting

Alliu

msativ

umLinn

KU

H-313

Garlic

Liliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Bulband

leaves

Bulbpieces

arer

egularlyused

forh

ighbloo

dpressureL

eavesa

ndbu

lbarec

hewed

for

vomiting

Asn

eeded

Aloe

barbadensisMill

KUH-314

Kunw

arLiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Pulpof

Leaves

Twoleaves

arem

ades

pineles

sand

each

oneis

dividedleng

th-w

iseinto

2or

3slicesTh

ese

sliceso

fleavesa

long

with

common

saltare

givenorallyto

thea

nimalsPu

lpisdirectly

appliedon

burned

skin

Usually3do

sesa

regiven

each

after

48ho

ursa

ndalso

depend

ondisease

severity

AvenasativaLKU

H-315

Jou

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Partlyrip

enfruitisg

roun

dandmixed

with

somes

ugar

andcold

water

tomakes

yrup

and

istakenorallyas

laxativ

eAsn

eeded

Azadira

chta

indica

(L)

AJussKU

H-316

Neem

Meliaceae

Treen

onendemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

3gm

ofleaves

iscrushedandmixed

with

water

andcommon

saltto

makes

yrup

and

used

orallyforc

uringjaun

dice

Twospoo

nsof

syrupare

used

inthem

orning

after

breakfastand

inthe

eveningbefore

meal

Beta

vulga

risLinn

KU

H-317

Chuk

andar

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Powderisu

sedorallyto

treatdiabetes

Asn

eeded

Calotro

pisp

roceraA

itfHortKU

H-318

Akra

Ascle

piadaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Latexand

flowers

Plantlatex

isappliedexternallyon

ther

egion

ofsnakeb

iteand5ndash8flo

wersareu

sedata

timew

ithwater

forintestin

alpain

2-3tim

esdaily

for5

days

forintestin

alpain

Capparisdesid

ua(Forsk)

Edgew

KUH-319

Kareeta

Capp

aridaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

FruitYo

ung

shoo

tsand

bark

Equalamou

ntso

fdrie

dfruitand

sugara

regrou

ndto

makep

owder(safoof)a

ndused

orallyforrheum

atism

You

ngshoo

tiscrushed

andmixed

with

flour

andgivento

anim

als

Bark

iscrushedandappliedexternallyto

the

affectedarea

forw

ound

healing

One

teaspo

onof

powder

istakenwith

aglassof

water

twicea

dayfora

weekforrheum

atism

Capsicu

mannu

mL

KUH-320

Green

mirc

hSolanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Freshandun

ripefruitiseatenforc

ancer

Asn

eeded

Carallu

matuberculataN

Brow

nKU

H-321

Chun

gaAp

ocyn

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Coo

kitas

simplev

egetableford

iabetic

scontroland

also

itiseatendirectlyform

any

purposes

Asn

eeded

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineTa

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Chenopodium

album

LKU

H-322

Bathu

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

root

Extractthe

juicefrom

theirleavesw

hich

istakenorallyas

alaxativeDrie

dleaves

paste

isused

foru

rinarypain

Asn

eeded

Cicera

rietin

umLinn

KU

H-323

Channa

Papilio

naceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

seeds

25gm

ofseed

coat(te

sta)o

froaste

dgram

sis

soaked

in250g

ofwater

atnightand

crushed

inthem

orning

andstrainedTh

estrained

water

istakenorally

Thisph

ytotherapy

isconsidered

tobe

useful

forc

onstipatio

n

Asn

eeded

Cichorium

intybu

sL

KUH-324

Kasni

Asteraceae

Herb

Wild

Who

leplant

Freshplantsareb

oiledandsugarisa

dded

todecoctionto

form

syrupandused

orallyfor

stomach

Syrupused

twicea

dayfor

aperiodas

needed

Cirsium

arvense(L)

ScopKU

H-325

Leh

Asteraceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Extracto

fleavesu

sedfora

bdom

inalpain

ofcattle

Asn

eeded

Citru

lluscolocynthis(L)

KUH-326

Karthu

ma

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

makesafoofa

nduse

itorallyforc

onstipatio

nAsn

eeded

Citru

smedica

Linn

KU

H-327

Nim

boRu

taceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

leaves

Fruitextractismixed

with

watersaltand

sugara

ndused

orallyto

controlblood

pressure

andvomiting

Fruitextractism

ixed

with

honeyandfre

shmilk

tomakeitspaste

andappliedon

face

forp

imples

Forskinthep

asteisused

atnightfor

onem

onth

foro

ther

purposesitis

used

asneeded

Cleomeb

rachycarpa

VahlK

UH-328

Gandi

booti

Capp

aridaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsdriedun

dershade

areg

roun

dto

make

powderTh

epurep

owderisu

sedorallyfor

abdo

minalpain

Asn

eeded

Convolvulusa

rvensis

LKU

H-329

Wanvehri

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

5kgplants

driedun

dershadeare

mixed

with

12literso

fwater

atnighttomakes

yrup

and

used

orallyforskindiseases

Inthem

orning

onec

upof

thiswater

isused

onem

ptysto

machor

isused

thric

eadayfora

perio

das

needed

Cordiadichotom

aFo

rsterf

KUH-330

Lasora

Boraginaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

Eatin

gof

fruitas

neededbeforem

ealis

recommendedforthe

treatmento

fmasculin

esexu

alweakn

ess

Asn

eeded

Coria

ndrum

sativ

umL

KUH-331

Dhania

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

and

fruits

Abou

t50g

ofdriedfruitisb

oiledin

oneliter

ofwater

tillh

alfo

fthe

water

isleft

The

decoctionisused

fora

sthm

aand

coug

hFreshleaves

areg

roun

dwith

minttomake

powdera

ndused

orallyford

iuretic

purposes

Depends

upon

disease

severity

Cucumissativ

usLinn

KUH-332

Kheera

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruits

Duringsevere

fevertheirpieces

arer

ubbedon

thes

oleo

fthe

feetandalso

good

ford

igestio

nAsrequired

Cuscutareflexa

Roxb

KUH-333

Loot

booti

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsared

riedandbu

rntTh

eash

isapplied

tothea

ffected

area

Asn

eeded

Cymbopogon

jawa

rancusa

(Jones)Schu

ltKU

H-334

Khawi

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Root

Upp

erpartso

fthe

rootsa

rebo

iledin

water

Thew

ater

isstr

ainedandisgivenorallyto

the

child

renalon

gwith

sugarfor

dyspepsia

and

typh

oid

2-3tim

esdaily

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5Ta

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Dau

cuscarotaL

KUH-335

Gajar

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Ediblepo

rtionincreasessight

visio

nAs

needed

DalbergiasissooRo

xb

KUH-336

Tali

Fabaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

70gof

youn

gleaves

ofbu

dsiscrushedOne

glasso

fwater

isaddedto

itandstrainedTh

isisuseful

forp

ilesjaun

diceand

thefeelin

gof

hotnessinsoleof

thefeet

Thes

trainedwater

istakendaily

andcontinued

for10days

DaturametelL

KUH-337

Datura

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Roosttheirleaves

andinhaletheirsmokefor

thetreatmento

fasth

maTh

eirseeds

areu

sed

asexpectorantanddo

noteatitin

excess

amou

ntotherwise

itwill

belethal

Asn

eeded

ErucasativaMill

KUH-338

Usoo

Brassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Aeria

lparts

5kgyoun

gbranches

alon

gwith

leaves

are

boiledin

15kg

water

anddecoctionis

obtainedTh

en5k

gmilletflo

urismixed

with

thed

ecoctio

nandisgivenorallyto

theh

orses

Asn

eeded

Eucalyptus

camaldu

lensis

Dehnh

KU

H-339

Safeda

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leafandbark

Tend

ershoo

tand

youn

gleaves

arec

rushed

andtheirsmellgives

tempo

rary

reliefin

coug

hAsn

eeded

Eugeniajambolana

Linn

KU

H-340

Jaman

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

and

fruit

Dry

then

onediblepo

rtionof

theirfruitand

then

grinditandtake

1-2spoo

nsdaily

for3

daysitw

illsto

pthes

everes

tomachprob

lems

andalso

thispo

wderisu

sedforthe

treatment

ofdiabetics

Twicea

day

Fagoniacretica

LKU

H-341

Dhaman

Zygoph

yllaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantisc

rushed

anddecoctionistakenwith

water

forp

ilesa

ndurinaryinfection

1teaspoo

nof

powderis

takenwith

breadthric

eaday

Ficusb

enghalensis

LKU

H-342

Bohirbargad

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Fruitdriedun

dershadeisg

roun

dto

form

powderTh

ispo

wderisu

sedorallyto

treat

abdo

minalpain

Takenwith

water

twicein

day

Ficuscarica

LKU

H-343

Anjeer

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

2ndash4fig

s(fruit)ares

oakedin

water

ormilk

atnightand

used

inthem

orning

onem

pty

stomachTh

isisconsidered

tobe

very

effectiv

efor

thetreatmento

fpilesFruitis

used

toremovek

idneysto

ne

Usedin

them

orning

onem

ptysto

machfor10

days

FicusreligiosaL

KUH-344

Peepal

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitand

bark

Burn

theb

arkandmakep

owderfrom

this

coalbark

andtake

orally5gram

sofitw

ithwater

ford

iarrho

eaFruitisused

forw

ound

healing

Asn

eeded

Foenicu

lum

vulga

reMill

KUH-345

Saun

fAp

iaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Equalquantities

offenn

elfruitcoria

nder

fruitandsugara

remixed

andgrou

ndtogether

tomakep

owdera

ndrecommended

ascarm

inativeFenn

elfruitfre

shmintleaves

andgreenteaa

rebo

iledused

forv

omiting

Thep

owderisu

sedtwice

aday

after

mealas

carm

inativea

ndfor

vomiting

andform

enses

pain

them

ixture

isused

twicea

day

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Behavioural Neurology

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Disease Markers

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OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

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ObesityJournal of

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Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 4: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

4 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineTa

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Chenopodium

album

LKU

H-322

Bathu

Chenop

odiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

root

Extractthe

juicefrom

theirleavesw

hich

istakenorallyas

alaxativeDrie

dleaves

paste

isused

foru

rinarypain

Asn

eeded

Cicera

rietin

umLinn

KU

H-323

Channa

Papilio

naceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

seeds

25gm

ofseed

coat(te

sta)o

froaste

dgram

sis

soaked

in250g

ofwater

atnightand

crushed

inthem

orning

andstrainedTh

estrained

water

istakenorally

Thisph

ytotherapy

isconsidered

tobe

useful

forc

onstipatio

n

Asn

eeded

Cichorium

intybu

sL

KUH-324

Kasni

Asteraceae

Herb

Wild

Who

leplant

Freshplantsareb

oiledandsugarisa

dded

todecoctionto

form

syrupandused

orallyfor

stomach

Syrupused

twicea

dayfor

aperiodas

needed

Cirsium

arvense(L)

ScopKU

H-325

Leh

Asteraceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Extracto

fleavesu

sedfora

bdom

inalpain

ofcattle

Asn

eeded

Citru

lluscolocynthis(L)

KUH-326

Karthu

ma

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

makesafoofa

nduse

itorallyforc

onstipatio

nAsn

eeded

Citru

smedica

Linn

KU

H-327

Nim

boRu

taceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitsand

leaves

Fruitextractismixed

with

watersaltand

sugara

ndused

orallyto

controlblood

pressure

andvomiting

Fruitextractism

ixed

with

honeyandfre

shmilk

tomakeitspaste

andappliedon

face

forp

imples

Forskinthep

asteisused

atnightfor

onem

onth

foro

ther

purposesitis

used

asneeded

Cleomeb

rachycarpa

VahlK

UH-328

Gandi

booti

Capp

aridaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsdriedun

dershade

areg

roun

dto

make

powderTh

epurep

owderisu

sedorallyfor

abdo

minalpain

Asn

eeded

Convolvulusa

rvensis

LKU

H-329

Wanvehri

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

5kgplants

driedun

dershadeare

mixed

with

12literso

fwater

atnighttomakes

yrup

and

used

orallyforskindiseases

Inthem

orning

onec

upof

thiswater

isused

onem

ptysto

machor

isused

thric

eadayfora

perio

das

needed

Cordiadichotom

aFo

rsterf

KUH-330

Lasora

Boraginaceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

Eatin

gof

fruitas

neededbeforem

ealis

recommendedforthe

treatmento

fmasculin

esexu

alweakn

ess

Asn

eeded

Coria

ndrum

sativ

umL

KUH-331

Dhania

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

and

fruits

Abou

t50g

ofdriedfruitisb

oiledin

oneliter

ofwater

tillh

alfo

fthe

water

isleft

The

decoctionisused

fora

sthm

aand

coug

hFreshleaves

areg

roun

dwith

minttomake

powdera

ndused

orallyford

iuretic

purposes

Depends

upon

disease

severity

Cucumissativ

usLinn

KUH-332

Kheera

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruits

Duringsevere

fevertheirpieces

arer

ubbedon

thes

oleo

fthe

feetandalso

good

ford

igestio

nAsrequired

Cuscutareflexa

Roxb

KUH-333

Loot

booti

Con

volvulaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsared

riedandbu

rntTh

eash

isapplied

tothea

ffected

area

Asn

eeded

Cymbopogon

jawa

rancusa

(Jones)Schu

ltKU

H-334

Khawi

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Root

Upp

erpartso

fthe

rootsa

rebo

iledin

water

Thew

ater

isstr

ainedandisgivenorallyto

the

child

renalon

gwith

sugarfor

dyspepsia

and

typh

oid

2-3tim

esdaily

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5Ta

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Dau

cuscarotaL

KUH-335

Gajar

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Ediblepo

rtionincreasessight

visio

nAs

needed

DalbergiasissooRo

xb

KUH-336

Tali

Fabaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

70gof

youn

gleaves

ofbu

dsiscrushedOne

glasso

fwater

isaddedto

itandstrainedTh

isisuseful

forp

ilesjaun

diceand

thefeelin

gof

hotnessinsoleof

thefeet

Thes

trainedwater

istakendaily

andcontinued

for10days

DaturametelL

KUH-337

Datura

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Roosttheirleaves

andinhaletheirsmokefor

thetreatmento

fasth

maTh

eirseeds

areu

sed

asexpectorantanddo

noteatitin

excess

amou

ntotherwise

itwill

belethal

Asn

eeded

ErucasativaMill

KUH-338

Usoo

Brassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Aeria

lparts

5kgyoun

gbranches

alon

gwith

leaves

are

boiledin

15kg

water

anddecoctionis

obtainedTh

en5k

gmilletflo

urismixed

with

thed

ecoctio

nandisgivenorallyto

theh

orses

Asn

eeded

Eucalyptus

camaldu

lensis

Dehnh

KU

H-339

Safeda

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leafandbark

Tend

ershoo

tand

youn

gleaves

arec

rushed

andtheirsmellgives

tempo

rary

reliefin

coug

hAsn

eeded

Eugeniajambolana

Linn

KU

H-340

Jaman

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

and

fruit

Dry

then

onediblepo

rtionof

theirfruitand

then

grinditandtake

1-2spoo

nsdaily

for3

daysitw

illsto

pthes

everes

tomachprob

lems

andalso

thispo

wderisu

sedforthe

treatment

ofdiabetics

Twicea

day

Fagoniacretica

LKU

H-341

Dhaman

Zygoph

yllaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantisc

rushed

anddecoctionistakenwith

water

forp

ilesa

ndurinaryinfection

1teaspoo

nof

powderis

takenwith

breadthric

eaday

Ficusb

enghalensis

LKU

H-342

Bohirbargad

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Fruitdriedun

dershadeisg

roun

dto

form

powderTh

ispo

wderisu

sedorallyto

treat

abdo

minalpain

Takenwith

water

twicein

day

Ficuscarica

LKU

H-343

Anjeer

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

2ndash4fig

s(fruit)ares

oakedin

water

ormilk

atnightand

used

inthem

orning

onem

pty

stomachTh

isisconsidered

tobe

very

effectiv

efor

thetreatmento

fpilesFruitis

used

toremovek

idneysto

ne

Usedin

them

orning

onem

ptysto

machfor10

days

FicusreligiosaL

KUH-344

Peepal

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitand

bark

Burn

theb

arkandmakep

owderfrom

this

coalbark

andtake

orally5gram

sofitw

ithwater

ford

iarrho

eaFruitisused

forw

ound

healing

Asn

eeded

Foenicu

lum

vulga

reMill

KUH-345

Saun

fAp

iaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Equalquantities

offenn

elfruitcoria

nder

fruitandsugara

remixed

andgrou

ndtogether

tomakep

owdera

ndrecommended

ascarm

inativeFenn

elfruitfre

shmintleaves

andgreenteaa

rebo

iledused

forv

omiting

Thep

owderisu

sedtwice

aday

after

mealas

carm

inativea

ndfor

vomiting

andform

enses

pain

them

ixture

isused

twicea

day

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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OncologyJournal of

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 5: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5Ta

ble2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Dau

cuscarotaL

KUH-335

Gajar

Apiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Root

Ediblepo

rtionincreasessight

visio

nAs

needed

DalbergiasissooRo

xb

KUH-336

Tali

Fabaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

70gof

youn

gleaves

ofbu

dsiscrushedOne

glasso

fwater

isaddedto

itandstrainedTh

isisuseful

forp

ilesjaun

diceand

thefeelin

gof

hotnessinsoleof

thefeet

Thes

trainedwater

istakendaily

andcontinued

for10days

DaturametelL

KUH-337

Datura

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Roosttheirleaves

andinhaletheirsmokefor

thetreatmento

fasth

maTh

eirseeds

areu

sed

asexpectorantanddo

noteatitin

excess

amou

ntotherwise

itwill

belethal

Asn

eeded

ErucasativaMill

KUH-338

Usoo

Brassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Aeria

lparts

5kgyoun

gbranches

alon

gwith

leaves

are

boiledin

15kg

water

anddecoctionis

obtainedTh

en5k

gmilletflo

urismixed

with

thed

ecoctio

nandisgivenorallyto

theh

orses

Asn

eeded

Eucalyptus

camaldu

lensis

Dehnh

KU

H-339

Safeda

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leafandbark

Tend

ershoo

tand

youn

gleaves

arec

rushed

andtheirsmellgives

tempo

rary

reliefin

coug

hAsn

eeded

Eugeniajambolana

Linn

KU

H-340

Jaman

Myrtaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Bark

and

fruit

Dry

then

onediblepo

rtionof

theirfruitand

then

grinditandtake

1-2spoo

nsdaily

for3

daysitw

illsto

pthes

everes

tomachprob

lems

andalso

thispo

wderisu

sedforthe

treatment

ofdiabetics

Twicea

day

Fagoniacretica

LKU

H-341

Dhaman

Zygoph

yllaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantisc

rushed

anddecoctionistakenwith

water

forp

ilesa

ndurinaryinfection

1teaspoo

nof

powderis

takenwith

breadthric

eaday

Ficusb

enghalensis

LKU

H-342

Bohirbargad

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Fruitdriedun

dershadeisg

roun

dto

form

powderTh

ispo

wderisu

sedorallyto

treat

abdo

minalpain

Takenwith

water

twicein

day

Ficuscarica

LKU

H-343

Anjeer

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

2ndash4fig

s(fruit)ares

oakedin

water

ormilk

atnightand

used

inthem

orning

onem

pty

stomachTh

isisconsidered

tobe

very

effectiv

efor

thetreatmento

fpilesFruitis

used

toremovek

idneysto

ne

Usedin

them

orning

onem

ptysto

machfor10

days

FicusreligiosaL

KUH-344

Peepal

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruitand

bark

Burn

theb

arkandmakep

owderfrom

this

coalbark

andtake

orally5gram

sofitw

ithwater

ford

iarrho

eaFruitisused

forw

ound

healing

Asn

eeded

Foenicu

lum

vulga

reMill

KUH-345

Saun

fAp

iaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Equalquantities

offenn

elfruitcoria

nder

fruitandsugara

remixed

andgrou

ndtogether

tomakep

owdera

ndrecommended

ascarm

inativeFenn

elfruitfre

shmintleaves

andgreenteaa

rebo

iledused

forv

omiting

Thep

owderisu

sedtwice

aday

after

mealas

carm

inativea

ndfor

vomiting

andform

enses

pain

them

ixture

isused

twicea

day

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Behavioural Neurology

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Disease Markers

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BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

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PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

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Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 6: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

6 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Grew

iaasiaticaL

KUH-346

Phalsa

Tiliaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leavesfruit

andbark

1kgfruitisc

rushed

with

fingersin

1litero

fwater

andthen

strainedSugar

isaddedto

the

strained

juicetomakes

yrup

Thes

yrup

istakenorallyforb

lood

purifying

feverand

gastrointestinaldisorders

Asn

eeded

Helianthus

annu

usL

KUH-347

Surajm

ukhi

Asteraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsleaves

andflo

wers

Leaves

andseedsa

recrushedandused

orally

andderm

allyagainstfever

andother

purposes

For2

days

Heliotropium

europaeum

LKU

H-348

PeepatBo

oti

Boraginaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

lant

iscrushedto

makep

asteTh

epaste

isappliedas

poultic

etothea

ffected

area

For3

days

Jasm

inum

grandiflorum

LKU

H-349

Cham

beli

Oleaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Juiceo

fwho

leplantisp

reparedandused

orallyagainsth

eartdiseases

anddiabetes

Asn

eeded

Laws

oniainermisL

KUH-350

Mehnd

iLythraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Leaves

arec

rushed

andpaste

isappliedon

solesa

ndhairs

Asn

eeded

Mom

ordica

charantia

Linn

KUH-351

Karela

Cucurbita

ceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leafflow

er

andfruits

Leaves

arec

rushed

andbo

iledandtakenas

teasomes

altisa

lsomixed

andused

forskin

diseases

andbloo

dpu

rificatio

nFruitisu

sed

asvegetablea

ndused

ford

iabetic

s

Asn

eeded

Menthavirid

isL

KUH-352

Podina

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Leaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

orallyfor

vomiting

andsto

machdisorders

Asn

eeded

Moringa

oleiferaLa

m

KUH-353

Sohanjna

Moringaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Who

leplant

Cuttheirroot

andbo

ilitin

water

andaft

erthataddmilk

tothiswater

anddrinkitwhich

breaks

thek

idneysto

ne

Asn

eeded

Morus

alba

LKU

H-354

Toot

Moraceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Eattheirfruitswhich

providethe

energy

totheh

eart

Asn

eeded

Nann

orrhopsritchieana

Griff

KUH-355

Mazri

Palm

aeSh

rubno

nend

emic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

Mostly

theirleavesa

rebo

iledandthen

this

juiceisu

sedorallyforc

arminativea

ndveterin

arytre

atment

Ocim

umbasilicu

mL

KUH-356

Niazbo

Lamiaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Seedsa

ndleaves

Freshleaves

ofmintniazbofennelfruit

and

greenteaa

rebo

iledandused

for

gastrointestinalandrespira

tory

infections

Asn

eeded

Oxalis

cornicu

lata

LKU

H-357

Khatti

boti

Oxalid

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Extracto

fwho

leplantisu

sedorallyforb

lood

purifi

catio

nAsn

eeded

Peganu

mharm

ala

LKU

H-358

Harmal

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

seeds

Asm

allquantity

ofharm

alas

eeds

alon

gwith

smallquantity

oftables

altistaken

with

water

fora

fewdays

asexpectorant

Dosed

epends

ondisease

severity

Phoenixdactylifer

aL

KUH-359

Khajoor

Palm

aeTreenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaflets

(spines)

Thelow

estleaflets(spines)of

compo

undleaf

arec

rushed

andbo

iledTh

estrainedwater

istakenorallyforg

eneralpain

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 7: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 7

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Plantago

ovataFo

rsk

KUH-360

Ispaghula

Plantaginaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

12gm

seedsa

retakenwith

milk

atnightfor

constip

ation

12gm

seedssugarand1g

lassof

water

arem

ixed

andshaken

welltocure

jaun

dice

Twicea

day

Polyg

onum

barbatum

LKU

H-361

Karaveera

Polygonaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Plantsarec

rushed

toform

paste

the

paste

isused

aspo

ultic

eonthea

ffected

area

daily

for

3days

Fora

perio

dof

threed

ays

Portulacaoleracea

LKU

H-362

Lunrak

Portulacaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Seeds

Equalamou

ntso

fseeds

ofPortulaca

coria

nderA

rgyreia

speciosaand

tables

ugar

areg

roun

dto

makep

owder(safoof)Itisan

effectiv

etraditio

nalphytotherapyused

for

nightemission

10gm

powderistaken

with

water

twicea

day

Punica

granatum

LKU

H-363

Anar

Punicaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Fruit

Crushthed

riedfruitand

mixthissafoof

with

water

anditisgivenorallyto

child

ren

Mostly

twicea

day

Raphanus

sativ

usL

KUH-364

Moo

liBrassic

aceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Rootsa

ndedibleparts

Paste

ofroot

isform

edandused

forskin

infections

Twotim

esad

ay

Ricin

uscommun

isL

KUH-365

Herno

liEu

phorbiaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

and

fruit

Heatthe

leaves

andfruitsandthen

they

releasethe

oilw

hich

isleaped

onthed

esire

dplaceo

rorgansw

here

pain

isfelt

Asn

eeded

Rosa

indica

Lind

lRo

sMon

ogr

KUH-366

Gulab

Rosaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Flow

erFreshpetalsarem

ixed

with

sugartomake

gulkandandkept

inbo

ttlea

ndused

for

stomachdisorders

Asn

eeded

Saccharum

benghalen

sisRe

tzK

UH-367

Kana

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leaves

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterand

after

anho

uritwillsettled

ownin

theb

ottom

Thes

trainedwater

isgivento

thea

nimals

sufferin

gfro

mldquourin

eretentio

nrdquodisease

Asn

eeded

Salva

dora

oleoides

DecneK

UH-368

Jal

Salvadoraceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

Fruit

250g

mof

fruitsisplaced

inac

layeypo

tand

itsmou

thisclo

sedin

ordertopreventthe

entrance

ofwater

inthep

otTh

epot

isplaced

inab

ucketo

fwater

fora

nightTh

efruitis

used

inthem

orning

onem

ptysto

mach

Eatin

gof

fruito

fwater

melon

before

oraft

erthee

atingof

Salvadoran

fruitisu

seful

Foro

neweek

Salva

dora

persica

LKU

H-369

Peelu

Salvadoraceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Wild

Bark

Bark

isbo

iledin

watertaken

asteaand

common

lyused

asap

urify

ingagent

Asn

eeded

Solanu

msuratte

nse

Burm

fKU

H-370

Kand

ari

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thep

owdero

fdrie

dfruitsistakenwith

water

fora

perio

dto

treatpilesFreshplantsare

boiledin

3tim

esmorew

aterTh

ewater

isfilteredandmixed

with

sugartoform

syrup

andused

fore

czem

aand

bloo

dpu

rificatio

n

Syrupisused

twicea

day

asneeded

fora

perio

dof

for2

mon

thsfor

treatment

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 8: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

8 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Table2Con

tinued

Botanicaln

amevoucher

specim

ennu

mber

Localn

ame

Family

Habitendemism

Status

Partused

Recipes

Dosage

Solanu

mnigrum

LKU

H-371

Makko

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Leafandfruit

Ripe

fruitsared

irectlygivenorallyfor

constip

ation

plantp

asteisform

edand

appliedderm

allyforh

eadachesandjointp

ain

Plantjuice

isused

ford

ysentery

andfever

Asn

eeded

Tamarixaphylla

(L)

KarstKU

H-372

Khagal

Tamaricaceae

Shrubno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Barkleaves

andtwigs

Ashof

theleavesism

ixed

with

waterafte

rhalfan

hour

thew

ater

isstrained

(filtered)

andbo

iledAfte

rboilin

gthew

ater

isevaporated

andthes

altisleft

behind

Then

1gm

saltistakenwith

Sharbat-e

-Bazoori

Itis

ausefultraditio

nalphytotherapyforjaund

ice

Leaves

areb

oiledin

waterTh

ewater

isstr

ainedandtheh

otleaves

aretiedon

the

affectedarea

dailyTh

isph

ytotherapy

isused

forthe

treatmento

fwou

nd

Twicea

dayfora

perio

das

needed

forjaund

icefor

wou

ndhealingitisused

foro

neweek

Thujaoccid

entalis

LKU

H-373

Thuja

Cupressaceae

Treenon

endemic

Cultivated

Leaves

Boiltheirleavesinthew

ater

andthen

wash

them

outh

with

thiswateritp

rovidesrapid

reliefindentalpainFresh

leaves

areb

urned

andtheirsmoked

ecreases

temperature

infever

Asn

eeded

Tribulus

terrestrisL

KU

H-374

Bhakra

Gok

hru

Zygoph

yllaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

ThefruitiscrushedanddriedSugaras

neededism

ixed

with

thed

riedpo

wdera

ndis

used

orallyforu

rinaryinfection

Four

times

inad

ayfor3

mon

ths

Violasto

cksii

Boiss

KUH-375

Makhanr

booti

Violaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Who

leplant

Thew

holeplantalon

gwith

seedsisgrou

ndto

makep

owdera

ndused

forsexualpurpo

se

2gpo

wderisu

sedwith

1teaspo

onbu

ttere

arlyin

them

orning

onem

pty

stomachas

needed

With

aniacoagulan

s(Stocks)Dun

al

KUH-376

Akri

Solanaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Wild

Fruit

Five

tosix

driedfruitsares

oakedin

2-3cups

ofwater

atnightin

them

orning

thes

oaked

fruitsares

queezedandthew

ater

isstr

ained

andused

forb

lood

purifi

catio

nOne

dried

fruitisk

eptinteethkeepingpainFivetosix

fruitsaretaken

with

water

liketabletfor

abdo

minalpain

One

cupof

water

isused

onem

ptysto

machfor

bloo

dpu

rificatio

nAnd

foro

ther

purposesit

depend

supo

ndisease

severity

ZeamaysL

inn

KUH-377

Makkai

Poaceae

Herbno

nend

emic

Cultivated

Fruit

Dry

fruitisc

rushed

andmadeintoflo

urwhich

isused

ford

igestio

nAsn

eeded

Zizip

husjujub

aMill

KUH-378

Ber

Rham

naceae

Treenon

endemic

Wild

cultiv

ated

Leaves

and

fruits

Eattheirfruitw

hich

ishelpfulintre

atmento

fdiarrhoeaa

swellasinbloo

dpu

rificatio

nPaste

ofleaves

isused

forh

airg

rowth

Asn

eeded

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 9: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9

Table 3 Informant consensus factor (FIC) for different ailment categories

Use categories Plant species Number oftaxa (Nt)

Number of usereports (Nur)

FIC

Gastrointestinal

Avena sativa (4) Calotropis procera (6) Chenopodiumalbum (3)Cicer arietinum (2) Cichorium intybus (5) Citrullus colocynthis (9)Cleome brachycarpa (5) Cucumis sativus (7) Cymbopogon jawarancusa(6) Eugenia jambolana (12) Ficus benghalensis (4) Ficus religiosa (4)Foeniculum vulgare (8) Grewia asiatica (5) Helianthus annuus (6)Mentha viridis (5) Nannorrhops ritchiana (4) Ocimumbasilicum (5)Plantago ovata (7) Punica granatum (6)Raphanus sativus Solanum nigrum (4) Zea mays (3) Ziziphus jujuba (2)

24 122 080

RespiratoryAlbizia lebbeck (3) Coriandrum sativum (3) Daturametel (2)Eucalyptus camaldulensis (5) Ocimumbasilicum (1) Peganumharmala(6) Salvadora oleoides (3)

7 23 072

Skin infections Convolvulus arvensis (2) Jasminum grandiflorum (1)Momordica charantia (4) Raphanus sativus (2) Solanum surattense (7) 5 16 073

Fever Cucumis sativus (1) Cymbopogon jawarancusa (2) Grewia asiatica (5)Helianthus annuus (2) Solanumnigrum (1)Thuja occidentalis (3) 6 14 061

Wound healing Capparis decidua (2) Cuscuta reflexa (1) Ficus religiosa (1)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 6 041

Cardiovascular Jasminum grandiflorum (3)Morus alba (2) Raphanus sativus (2) 3 7 066

Jaundice Azadirachta indica (3) Dalbergia sissoo (1) Plantago ovata (4)Tamarix aphylla (2) 4 10 066

Rheumatism Capparis decidua (1) Polygonumbarbatum (2) 2 3 050

Vomiting Allium cepa (2) Allium sativum (1) Citrusmedica (3) Foeniculum vulgare(5) Mentha viridis (2) 5 13 066

Kidney problemsAcaciamodesta (4) Chenopodiumalbum (5) Coriandrum sativum (2)Fagonia cretica (6) Ficus carica (3) Helianthus annuus (8)Moringa oleifera (4) Tribulus terrestris (5)

8 37 080

Table 4 Average direct matrix ranking (DMR) score of fifteen key informants for ten medicinal plants species

Use diversity C desidua Z jujuba D sissoo T aphylla F cretica W coagulans M alba N retichiana Total RankFuel 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 3 27 1Medicinal 3 3 3 4 4 5 3 2 27 1Fodder 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 3 26 2Agricultural tools 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 21 3Construction 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 21 3Food 1 4 1 1 1 2 4 1 15 4Total 13 20 21 19 12 17 21 14Rank 6 2 1 3 7 4 1 5Based on use criteria (5 = best 4 = very good 3 = good 2 = less used 1 = least used 0 = no value)

level and to prove the reliability of data collected throughsemistructured interviews [18] Questionnaires designed tothe respondents (traditional healers) about medicinal plantsknowledge were mainly focused on local name of a particularmedicinal plant types of disease treated mode and methodof remedy preparation parts of the plants used use of fresh ordry plant parts use of single or mixture of plants for remedypreparation mode of administration dose requirement andusable duration regarding each medicine Questionnairesalso contained questions regarding sociocultural informa-tion

23 Medicinal Plants Collection and Preservation Plant sam-ples were collected from the field and were dried andcompressed in newspapers Newspapers were changed dailyuntil they remained dry after compression Identificationof plants was done by the expert taxonomists Dr WaheedMurad and Dr Azizullah of Kohat University of Scienceand Technology Kohat Pakistan Scientific names familynames and publication authors were corrected according tothe flora of Pakistan and software index kewensis [19] Pressedplant samples plant photographs and descriptions wereassigned voucher numbers and deposited at the herbarium at

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

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Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 10: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

10 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 20 40 60 80 100Age

Num

ber o

f pla

nts k

now

n

R2= 09145

Figure 2 Comparison between age of the people and number ofplants known (Pearsonrsquos correlation (1199032 = 0950) 119899 = 120)

31 31

16

10 96 4 3 1 1 1

05

101520253035

Parts used

Num

ber o

f pla

nts

Frui

t

Leav

es

Who

le p

lant

Seed

s

Bark

Root

s

Flow

er

Bulb

Twig

s

Pulp

of l

eave

s

Leafl

ets

Figure 3 Medicinal plants part used

the Department of Botany Kohat University of Science andTechnology Kohat Pakistan

24 Data Organization Data was organized and analyzedusing Microsoft Excel software The habits of the plants werecategorized into three groups that is herbs shrubs andtrees using available literature [19] The status of recordedplants was divided into three groups of wild cultivated andboth wild and cultivated The parts used by the healers werecategorized into 11 groups that is fruit leaves whole plantseeds bark root and so forth Human ailments treated bythe traditional healers were divided into 11 categories suchas gastrointestinal infection respiratory infection and feverRoute of administration of plant remedies was classified intothree groups such as oral dermal and both oraldermal andnasal Questionnaire data was analyzed for basic categoriza-tion of the respondentsrsquo gender age groups literacy ratio andoccupation

25 Data Analysis

251 Informant Consensus Factor (F119868119862) Descriptive statistics

were used to examine and summarize the ethnobotanical

data Based on the information obtained from the infor-mants the ailments reported were grouped into a total of11 categories The FIC results could be useful in prioritizingmedicinal plants for further scientific validation of plantsand plant products [20 21] as pharmacologically effectiveremedies are expected from plants with higher FIC values[22] The informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculatedto estimate user variability of medicinal plants [23 24] FICvalues range from 000 to 100 High FIC values are obtainedwhen only one or a few plant species are reported to beused by a high proportion of informants to treat a particularailment whereas low FIC values indicate that informantsdisagree overwhich plant to use [23]High FIC values can thusbe used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for thesearch of bioactive compounds [24] FIC is calculated usingthe following formula

FIC = 119873ur minus119873t(119873ur minus 1)

(1)

where Nur is the number of individual plant use reports fora particular illness category and Nt is the total number ofspecies used by all informants for this illness category

26 Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) Data on use diversityof multipurpose medicinal plants were evaluated by directmatrix ranking (DMR) exercises as described in Cotton[25] that involved fifteen (ten men and five women) keyinformants Participants for this exercise were selected basedon their long years of experience as traditional herbal practi-tioners in the study area as described in Yineger et al [26]

261 Pearsonrsquos Correlation This statistical test was appliedbetween the age of the respondents and number of plantsknown to them The test was carried out using SPSS [27]

3 Results

Among the 120 informants 50 (415) were male and 70(585) were female The largest proportion of the respon-dents was of the elderly above 40 years old (Table 1)More than half of the respondents were illiterate (525)whilst most of those with an education received merelyprimary education (258) which reflects the unavailabilityof educational institution in the area (Table 1) Majority offemales (90) were housewives while 44 of males werefarmers followed by 24 of shopkeepers These very basicresults also reflect the reality that indigenous knowledge iswell established but seems to be decreasing in the youngergeneration The indigenous knowledge showed a significantnegative correlation (119903 = minus095 119875 lt 001) with the age of therespondents (both male and female) (Figure 2)

The present study provides information of ethnomedic-inal uses of 70 plant species belonging to 39 families and62 genera (Table 2) Out of 39 families the dominant familywith highest number of medicinal plants was Solanaceae(5 species) followed by Moraceae Poaceae (4 species) and3 species each in Liliaceae and Asteraceae Moreover thelocal healers mostly use herbs (57) followed by trees (29)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

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Diabetes ResearchJournal of

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 11: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 11

(Table 2) Of the 70 species 50 were cultivated while (44)were wild (Table 2)

Different parts of medicinal plants are used as medicineby the traditional healers (Figure 3) Among the differentplant parts the leaves and fruit (31) are the most frequentlyused for the treatment of diseases followed by whole plantparts roots barks tubers seeds and stems Ethnomedicineswere mostly taken through oral route (70) followed bydermaloral (15) and dermal (11) Decoction is the mostcommon method used for remedy preparation (Table 2)The additives like milk butter boiled coffee and food arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies The most commonly treated disease (34) inthe study area was gastrointestinal disorders (Table 3) Thehealers used usually fresh plant parts for the preparation ofethnomedicines (Table 2)

There is no standardized measure on the dose for most ofthe ethnomedicines in the study area The dose depends onthe traditional healer that prepares the herbs for medicinalpurpose or it may also depend upon the disease severity Thedosage of certain plants in the region varied according to thetype of illness ranging from two spoonfuls (eg for treatmentof jaundice using syrup prepared fromAzadirachta indica) toa cup or glass (eg for blood purification and abdominal painstained water from fruit ofWithania coagulans) Most of theethnomedicines are prepared using single plant in the regionwhile some others are prepared by the mixing parts of morethan one plant for example fresh leaves ofMentha viridis andOcimum basilicum and fruit of Foeniculum vulgare are mixedand boiled to make tea used for stomach problems equalquantities of fruits of Coriandrum sativum and Foeniculumvulgare are mixed and crushed to make powder and used ascarminative and extract of bulb of Allium cepa and Menthaviridis is mixed and used for cholera

About 11 disease categories were identified from the inves-tigated region The highest FIC values were gastrointestinal(080) respiratory (072) skin infections (073) and kidneyproblems (080) (Table 3) The highest plant use citationwas for gastrointestinal disorders (122) followed by kidneyproblems (37) and respiratory infections (23) The outputof the DMR exercise on ten multipurpose medicinal plantsenabled to identify which of the multipurpose plants is themost to be under pressure in the area and the correspondingfactors that threaten the plant Accordingly Morus alba andDalbergia sissoo ranked first (the most threatened) Zizyphusjujuba ranked second Tamarix aphylla ranked thirdWitha-nia coagulans ranked fourth (Table 4) Results also indicatedthat thosemultipurposemedicinal plant species are currentlyexploitedmore for fodder fuel construction and agriculturaltools purposes besides their medicinal role

4 Discussion

41 Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge The presentstudy provides information on 70 medicinal plants usedin the study area by local traditional healers The studyrevealed that the people of the region have been using plantresources for their various ailments The local people know

the useful plants and preparation of recipes through per-sonal experience and ancestral prescription and long utility[28]

Dominance of medicinal plant species from families ofSolanaceae Asteraceae Poaceae and Moraceae could beattributed to their wider distribution and abundance in theflora area [29 30] As leaves and fruits of medicinal plantspecies were reported to be harvested formost remedy prepa-rations gathering ofmedicinemay have little negative impacton the species It is well recognized by conservationists thatmedicinal plants primarily valued for their root parts andthose which are intensively harvested for their bark oftentend to be the most threatened by overexploitation [31]Results also showed prominent use of freshly harvested plantparts for traditional remedy preparation used against variousailments The recurrent use of freshly harvested medicinalplant materials in the area is reported to be related to thenotion of attaining high efficacy using active ingredients offresh plant parts which they thought could be lost on dryingOther ethnomedicinal inventories [26 32] have also indicatedwide use of fresh plant materials for remedy preparations dueto reportedly better efficacy related factors than use of driedplant materials

42 Growth Form and Status of Medicinal Plants Presentstudy elucidates that the herbs are the major growth formused in the region for curing human diseases followedby trees A high usage of herbs in some studies couldbe an indication of their abundance easy availability andcenturies-old traditional knowledge of the healers The trendof using more of herbaceous plants could be advantageousas it is easier to cultivate them when they are short insupply According to our study most of the medicinal plantsare being cultivated in the region The high proportionof woody plants in our survey is likely associated withthe ability of trees to withstand long dry seasons thusresulting in their abundance and year-round availabilityin arid and semiarid areas Thus the variation in medic-inal plants growth form might be associated with differ-ent sociocultural beliefs ecological status and variationin practices of traditional healers of different regions orcountries

43 Preparation Route of Administration and Dosage ofMedicinal Plants The healers of the region mostly usedethnomedicines in decoction form The medicinal plantdecoctions for various ailments might be related to theirproven effectiveness over many years of trial and indigenousknowledge accumulated on efficacy of such preparationsAdditives (milk butter boiled coffee and food) that arecommonly believed to serve as a vehicle to transport theremedies are also necessary to minimize the bitterness vom-iting and diarrhoea and to make the remedy more palatableThe finding is in line with other studies indicating that theoral route is the most preferred mode of administration [3334] Preparation of plant medicines from several plant partsis believed to cure diseases more rapidly compared to singleplant medicine [35]

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 12: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

12 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

44 Priority Medicinal Plant Species and the Ailments ThatThey Treat The highest number of plant species and highestFIC value were reported for gastrointestinal respiratorykidney and skin infections This may be related to a highprevalence of these ailments Gastrointestinal disorders andrespiratory infections particularly cholera diarrhoea dysen-tery cough asthma and bronchitis are a major concernnot only in the study area but also in the whole countryand result in high mortality rate if not treated promptly[36]

In our study the lowest FIC value below 005 was onlyrecorded for wound healing category which would typ-ically result from plant use to treat rare diseases how-ever all other diseases have FIC value above 005 sug-gesting that our survey addressed medicinal plant speciescommonly used to treat common human ailments in thestudy areas The high FIC value medicinal plants containvariety of bioactive compounds and many of them havebeen scientifically proved by various studies For examplethe natives of the region are using a large of numberof plants like Solanum nigrum Calotropis procera Grewiaasiatica Punica granatum and so forth for the treatmentof diarrhoea dysentery and other gastrointestinal disorderswhile many plants like Eucalyptus camaldulensis Corian-drum sativum Datura metel and so forth are being usedfor respiratory diseases The aforementioned plants containvariety of chemical constituents like tannins saponins alka-loids flavonoids and phenol compounds that are respon-sible for their therapeutic action against such diseases[37ndash40]

45 Direct Matrix Ranking The output of a DMR showedthe highest values (ranks) for a number of multipur-pose medicinal plants of the study area such as Morusalba Dalbergia sissoo Zizyphus jujuba Withania coagulansTamarix aphylla Fagonia cretica and Nannorhops ritchieanaThe result indicates that these plants are exploited morefor their nonmedicinal uses than for reported medicinalvalues Overharvesting of multipurpose medicinal plantspecies for construction fuel wood fodder and agricul-tural tools was found to be the responsible factors aggra-vating the depletion of the highly ranked species in thearea

46 Indigenous Knowledge It was observed during researchstudy that the knowledgeable women were more concen-trated as compared to themen of this region of Pakistan Gen-erally gender-based differences inmedicinal plant knowledgecan be derived from experience and degree of cultural contactwith curative plants [41] The study indicates that the agedpeople of the region have traditional knowledge about morenumbers of medicinal plants as compared to younger peoplewhich might be due to their least interest Hussain et al[42] in South Waziristan and Parveen et al [43] in the TharDesert of India have also reported that people older than 35years of age are more knowledgeable than the young ones onmedicinal plants and their uses

5 Conclusions

In conclusion D I Khan has plenty of medicinal plants andthe people of the region are highly dependent on these plantsfor medicinal and other ethnobotanical purposesThe peopleof the region have tremendous traditional knowledge regard-ing the utilization and preparation of various ethnomedicinalremedies Moreover they are using some medicinal plantsfor multipurpose and posing great pressures on certainmedicinal plants likeMorus alba andDalbergia sissoo Hencenatives should be educated regarding the sustainable usage ofmedicinal plants The persistence of traditional knowledge ismore among old age people however as a matter of concernyoung people are taking less interest in such knowledge dueto multiple reasons As such studies on the documentationof ethnomedicines may be extended to other areas for theprotection of traditional knowledge Further phytochemicalanalysis pharmaceutical application and clinical trials aretherefore recommended in order to evaluate the authenticityof ethnomedicines to scientific standards

Questionnaire of EthnobotanicalData Collection

Informantsrsquo Consent for the Participation in the Study

I (name of informant) hereby give my full consent andconscious to participate in this study and declare that to thebest of my knowledge the information that I have provided istrue accurate and complete

Date (signaturethumb impression of informant)

Informantsrsquo Details

Name

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Occupation

Education

Locationresidence

Data about Medicinal Plant and Its Use

Number of plants known

Names of plants (local names)

Plant part used

Cultivatedwild

Name of disease(s) treated

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 13: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 13

Name of plants used for specific disease categoriesMethod of crude drug preparationUse of single or mixture of plantsMode of administrationDosage

Informant Consensus Factor

Name of plants used against disease category 1Name of plants used against disease category 2Name of plants used against disease category 3Name of plants used against disease category 4Name of plants used against disease category 5Name of plants used against disease category 6Name of plants used against disease category 7Name of plants used against disease category 8Name of plants used against disease category 9Name of plants used against disease category 10

Direct Matrix Ranking

Number of plants having NTFPs usesName of plants (local names)NTFPs uses

RemarksPlant identified asmdashmdash(botanical name and family)Signature of researcher

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of ScientificResearch King SaudUniversity Riyadh for funding the workthrough the research group Project no RGP-VPP-210

References

[1] M Ahmad M A Khan U Rashid M Zafar M Arshadand S Sultana ldquoQuality assurance of herbal drug valerian bychemotaxonomic markersrdquo African Journal of Biotechnologyvol 8 no 6 pp 1148ndash1154 2009

[2] A C Hamilton ldquoMedicinal plants conservation and liveli-hoodsrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 8 pp 1477ndash1517 2004

[3] J Bhat M Kumar and R Bussmann ldquoEcological status and tra-ditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Kedarnath WildlifeSanctuary of Garhwal Himalaya Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicie vol 9 article 1 2013

[4] S KMarwatM A KhanM AhmadM Zafar and F RehmanldquoEthnomedicines for treatment of various diseases in DI KhanDistrictrdquo Sarhad Journal of Agriculture vol 24 article 2 2008

[5] G M Hocking ldquoPakistan medicinal plantsrdquo Qualitas Plan-tarum et Materiae Vegetabiles vol 5 no 1-2 pp 145ndash153 1958

[6] M Ibrar F Hussain and A Sultan ldquoEthnobotanical studieson plant resources of Ranyal Hills District Shangla PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 39 no 2 pp 329ndash337 2007

[7] A Mahmood A Mahmood and A Tabassum ldquoEthnomedici-nal survey of plants from District Sialkot Pakistanrdquo Journal ofApplied Pharmacy vol 03 pp 212ndash220 2011

[8] ZK Shinwari and S SGilani ldquoSustainable harvest ofmedicinalplants at Bulashbar Nullah Astore (Northern Pakistan)rdquo Jour-nal of Ethnopharmacology vol 84 no 2-3 pp 289ndash298 2003

[9] E Ahmed M Arshad A Saboor et al ldquoEthnobotanicalappraisal and medicinal use of plants in Patriata New Murreeevidence from Pakistanrdquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Eth-nomedicine vol 9 article 13 2013

[10] S Z Husain R N Malik M Javaid and S Bibi ldquoEthonob-otanical properties and uses of medicinal plants of MorgahBiodiversity Park Rawalpindirdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol40 no 5 pp 1897ndash1911 2008

[11] R Qureshi M Maqsood M Arshad and A K ChaudhryldquoEthnomedicinal uses of plants by the people of Kadhi areas ofKhushab Punjab Pakistanrdquo Pakistan Journal of Botany vol 43no 1 pp 121ndash133 2011

[12] Z Sher Z U D Khan and F Hussain ldquoEthnobotanical studiesof some plants of Chagharzai Valley District Buner PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1445ndash1452 2011

[13] P A Cox and M J Balick ldquoThe ethnobotanical approach todrug discoveryrdquo Scientific American vol 270 no 6 pp 82ndash871994

[14] R U Khan Facts about AZRI Pakistan Agricultural ResearchCouncil Arid Zone Research institute DI Khan Pakistan2003

[15] K L Chaudhry ldquoDistrict census report of Dera Ismail KhanrdquoCensus Publication 50 Population Census Organization Statis-ticDivisionGovernment of Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan 1998

[16] S A Shah ldquoConservation of endangered species in KhyberPakhtunkhwardquo Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences vol 21 no2 pp 400ndash404 2011

[17] Anonymous District Census Report of Dera Ismail KhanCensus Publication 1998

[18] G J Martin Ethnobotany a Methods Manual Chapman andHall London UK 1995

[19] S I Ali and M Qaiser ldquoFlora of Pakistanrdquo 2010 No 1-215 (1972-2010) Pakistan httpwwweflorasorgflora pageaspxflora id=5

[20] M J Moshi D F Otieno P K Mbabazi and A WeisheitldquoThe ethnomedicine of the haya people of bugabo ward Kageraregion north western Tanzaniardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 5 article 24 2009

[21] M Giday Z Asfaw and Z Woldu ldquoMedicinal plants of theMeinit ethnic group of Ethiopia an ethnobotanical studyrdquoJournal of Ethnopharmacology vol 124 no 3 pp 513ndash521 2009

[22] R T Trotter and M H Logan ldquoInformants consensus a newapproach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plantsrdquoin Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet N L Etkin Ed pp91ndash112 Redgrave Publishing Company Bedford Hill NY USA1986

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 14: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

14 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

[23] M Heinrich A Ankli B Frei C Weimann and O SticherldquoMedicinal plants in Mexico healersrsquo consensus and culturalimportancerdquo Social Science and Medicine vol 47 no 11 pp1859ndash1871 1998

[24] M Canales T Hernandez J Caballero et al ldquoInformantconsensus factor and antibacterial activity of the medicinalplants used by the people of San Rafael Coxcatlan PueblaMexicordquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 97 no 3 pp 429ndash439 2005

[25] C M Cotton Ethnobotany Principles and Applications JohnWiley and Sons Chichester UK 1996

[26] H Yineger E Kelbessa T Bekele and E Lulekal ldquoEthnovet-erinary medicinal plants at Bale Mountains National ParkEthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacology vol 112 no 1 pp 55ndash70 2007

[27] SPSS Inc SPSS Version 16 0 for Windows SPSS Chicago ILUSA 2007

[28] S K Marwat F Fazal-Ur-Rehman M A Khan M Ahmad MZafar and SGhulam ldquoMedicinal folk recipes used as traditionalphytotherapies in district Dera Ismail Khan KPK PakistanrdquoPakistan Journal of Botany vol 43 no 3 pp 1453ndash1462 2011

[29] WMuradAAhmad S AGilani andMAKhan ldquoIndigenousknowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribalcommunities of Hazar Nao forest Malakand district NorthPakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 7 pp 1072ndash1086 2011

[30] F Haq H Ahmad andM Alam ldquoTraditional uses of medicinalplants of Nandiar Khuwarr catchment (District Battagram)Pakistanrdquo Journal of Medicinal Plant Research vol 1 pp 39ndash482011

[31] T Flatie T Gedif K Asres and T Gebre-Mariam ldquoEthnomed-ical survey of Berta ethnic group Assosa Zone Benishangul-Gumuz regional state mid-west Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobi-ology and Ethnomedicine vol 5 article 14 2009

[32] E Lulekal E Kelbessa T Bekele and H Yineger ldquoAnethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Mana AngetuDistrict southeastern Ethiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology andEthnomedicine vol 4 article 10 2008

[33] W M Otang D S Grierson and R N Ndip ldquoEthnobotan-ical survey of medicinal plants used in the management ofopportunistic fungal infections in HIVAIDS patients in theAmathole district of the Eastern Cape Province South AfricardquoJournal ofMedicinal Plants Research vol 6 pp 2071ndash2080 2012

[34] F Mesfin S Demissew and T Teklehaymanot ldquoAn ethnob-otanical study of medicinal plants inWonagoWoreda SNNPREthiopiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 5article 28 2009

[35] CMuthuM Ayyanar N Raja and S Ignacimuthu ldquoMedicinalplants used by traditional healers in Kancheepuram District ofTamil Nadu Indiardquo Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinevol 2 article 43 2006

[36] A Ribeiro M M Romeiras J Tavares and M T Faria ldquoEth-nobotanical survey in Canhane village district of MassingirMozambique medicinal plants and traditional knowledgerdquoJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine vol 6 article 332010

[37] D Venkatesan C M Karrunakaran and S Kumar ldquoStudieson phytochemical constituents functional group identificationand antimicrobial activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)rdquoEthnobotanical Leaflets vol 13 pp 1485ndash1503

[38] H Doshi H Satodiya C M Thakur and F Parabia ldquoPhyto-chemical screening and biological activity of Calotropis procera

against selected bacteria and Anopheles stephansi larvaerdquo Inter-national Journal of Plant Research vol 1 pp 29ndash33 2011

[39] S V C Prakash and P Indra ldquoBioactive chemical constituentsfrom pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice seed and peelrdquoEnvironment vol 1 pp 1ndash18 2011

[40] A Verma N S Pandeya K S Yadav S Singh and P SonildquoCoriandrum sativum (Linn) an ayurvedic medicinal herb ofhappinessrdquo Journal of Advances in Pharmacy and HealthcareResearch vol 1 pp 28ndash48 2011

[41] R A Voeks ldquoAre women reservoirs of traditional plant knowl-edge Gender ethnobotany and globalization in northeastBrazilrdquo Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography vol 28 no 1pp 7ndash20 2007

[42] M Hussain G M Shah and M A Khan ldquoTraditional medic-inal and economic uses of Gymnosperms of Kaghan valleyPakistanrdquo Ethnobotany Leaflets vol 10 pp 72ndash81 2006

[43] P Parveen BUpadhyay S Roy andAKumar ldquoTraditional usesof medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu dis-trict in the Thar Desert Indiardquo Journal of Ethnopharmacologyvol 113 no 3 pp 387ndash399 2007

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Page 15: Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/212634.pdf · Research Article Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Disease Markers

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Diabetes ResearchJournal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Research and TreatmentAIDS

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom