Assessment of Traditional Medicinal Plants used to treat human and livestock ailments and their threatening factors in Gulomekeda District, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

About 80% of the total population of Ethiopia is depending on traditional medicine to treat different types ofhuman illness. More than 90% livestock in Ethiopia rely on traditional medicine. This study was conductedin Gulomekeda district, Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, to assess the Traditional Medicinal Plants usedto treat human and livestock ailments and their threatening factors. Purposive sampling was employed toassess the traditional medicinal plants and local knowledge of the people in the study area. Data wascollected by questionnaires and interviews to gather information on plant species used for medicinal plants,part(s) of plants used for medicine, methods of preparations, route of utilizations and source of the plants. Atotal of 34 medicinal plants, which belong to 27 families were recorded in the study area. The local peopleuse the recorded plants to treat more than 24 different aliments of human and livestock. Leaf was the mostfrequently used plant part used to treat human disease, followed by root. Oral application was also widelyused followed by dermal. Deforestation, drought, erosion, urbanization and overgrazing were found to bemajor threats to the existence of medicinal plants in the study area. Future policy on documentation of thetraditional medicinal plants and research should also focus on proper conservation and development ofpharmaceutical drugs from these traditional medicines.