Abstract
The use of medicinal plants as an unconventional health treatment is gaining considerable recognition and popularity worldwide. The current study was designed to inspect five medicinally important species (such as Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds., Mentha piperita L., Mentha spicata L., Ocimum basilicum L., and Rosmarinus officinalis L.) of Lamiaceae, collected from district Peshawar, through ethnoecological, phytochemical, and elemental analyses. Biological spectra expressed that therophytes (60%) were the dominant life-form class, while nanophyll (60%) was the leading class among leaf size. The ethnobotanical profile showed that all the species were medicinal and ornamental (100%) each, while 60% were used in spices. Quantitative analysis for the macro- and microminerals confirmed the presence of 13 elements (C, N, O, Mg, K, P, S, Ca, Al, Si, Fe, Cl, and Na), which were present in varying amounts from species to species. The methanol extract of leaf samples was used for the analysis of phytochemical constituents such as saponins, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, phlobatannins, steroids, and anthraquinones. The medicinal potential of these plants was correlated with the presence of these phytochemicals. Due to the presence of active constituents, the plants had high potential in antifungal, antidiuretic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.
Highlights
Peshawar is the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, province of Pakistan, located at the altitude of 300 meters between 35°50′37N latitude and 71°21′45E longitude (Figure 1)
Peshawar is not located in the monsoon region unlike the other northern parts of Pakistan. e area has extreme conditions; the coldest month is January with average maximum temperature 18.35°C, and the hottest month is June having a mean maximum temperature of 40.8°C. e relative humidity varies from 46% in June to 76% in August [2]. e average annual rainfall recorded was 454.2 mm
Out of 50,000 angiospermic plants used as medicines, more than 600 species are used in Pakistan for curing various diseases [4, 5]. e family Lamiaceae, known as Labiatae or mint family, consists of highly valued medicinal plants with cosmopolitan distribution and worldwide source of spices and various extracts [6]
Summary
Peshawar is the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, province of Pakistan, located at the altitude of 300 meters between 35°50′37N latitude and 71°21′45E longitude (Figure 1). Its population is 1,970,042, and it covered an area of 1,257 kilometer square [1]. E family Lamiaceae, known as Labiatae or mint family, consists of highly valued medicinal plants with cosmopolitan distribution and worldwide source of spices and various extracts [6]. Out of 50,000 angiospermic plants used as medicines, more than 600 species are used in Pakistan for curing various diseases [4, 5]. Within this family, about 236 genera and more than 6000 species are present in which genera Ocimum and Mentha provide various taxa [6, 7]. Ethnoecological studies have been carried out by various research studies in Peshawar and adjoining areas [8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. e plants of this family contain active chemical constituents and Scientifica
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