Indigenous knowledge and folk use of medicinal plants by the tribal communities of Hazar Nao Forest, Malakand District, North Pakistan

Abstract

Regular field surveys were conducted for two consecutive years in the villages of Brah, Totay, P khel, Mekhband, Kot and Haryankot of Hazar Nao forest. Hazar Nao is located at about 23 km west of the tribal zone of Dargai, Malakand District, Pakistan. Although, majority of the local inhabitants in the study area depend on plants to treat human ailments, the indigenous knowledge is still not documented. Therefore, the present study is carried out to enlist plant species of this un-explored area and record their medicinal uses before the ethnomedicinal information are lost. Information about medicinal plants were gathered through formal and informal interviews and questionnaires were filled from local people. The folk medicinal uses of 75 plant species were recorded for various human ailments. Key words: Pakistan, Malakand, Hazar Nao, medicinal plant, human ailments.