Abstract
BackgroundMedicinal plants are the integral part of the variety of cultures in Ethiopia and have been used over many centuries. Hence, the aim of this study is to document the medicinal plants in the natural vegetation and home gardens in Wonago Woreda, Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR).Materials and methodsThirty healers were selected to collect data on management of medicinal plants using semi-structured interview, group discussion, and field observation. The distribution of plant species in the study areas was surveyed, and preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, priority ranking of factors and Informant consensus factor (ICF) were calculated.ResultsThe informants categorized the vegetation into five community types based on plant density and associated landform: 'Raqqa', 'Hakka cadanaba', 'Mancchha', 'Bullukko', and 'Wodae gido'. 155 plant species were collected from the natural vegetation and 65 plant species from the home gardens ('Gattae Oduma'). Seventy-two plant species were documented as having medicinal value: Sixty-five (71%) from natural vegetation and 27 (29%) from home gardens. Forty-five (62%) were used for humans, 15(21%) for livestock and 13(18%) for treating both human and livestock ailments: 35 (43.2%) were Shrubs, 28(34.5%) herbs, 17 (20.9%) trees and 1(1.2%) climbers. The root (35.8%) was the most commonly used plant part. The category: malaria, fever and headache had the highest 0.82 ICF. Agricultural expansion (24.4%) in the area was found to be the main threat for medicinal plants followed by fire wood collection (18.8%). Peoples' culture and spiritual beliefs somehow helped in the conservation of medicinal plants.ConclusionTraditional healers still depend largely on naturally growing plant species and the important medicinal plants are under threat. The documented medicinal plants can serve as a basis for further studies on the regions medicinal plants knowledge and for future phytochemical and pharmacological studies.
Highlights
Ethiopians have used traditional medicines for many centuries, the use of which has become an integral part of the different cultures in Ethiopia
Plant species in the natural vegetation of the study area 155 plant species were collected from the natural vegetation, which were distributed among 63 families and 136 genera
Medicinal plants like Allium sativum, Artemisia abyssinica, Capsicum anuum, Lepidium sativum, Ensete ventricosum, Nicotiana tabacum, Ocimum lamiifolium, Ruta chalepensis, and Zingiber officinale were restricted to farmlands, farm boarders, live fences and home gardens
Summary
Ethiopians have used traditional medicines for many centuries, the use of which has become an integral part of the different cultures in Ethiopia. The majority of the population that lives in the rural and the poor people in urban areas rely mainly on traditional medicines to meet their primary health care needs. The loss of valuable medicinal plants due to population pressure, agricultural expansion and deforestation is widely reported by different workers [3,4]. The need to perform ethnobotanical researches and to document the medicinal plants and the associated indigenous knowledge must be an urgent task [5,6]. Medicinal plants are the integral part of the variety of cultures in Ethiopia and have been used over many centuries. The aim of this study is to document the medicinal plants in the natural vegetation and home gardens in Wonago Woreda, Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR)
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