Quantitative Ethnobotanical Analysis of Medicinal Plants of High-Temperature Areas of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Muhammad Usman,Muhammad Nawaz Rajpar,Muhammad Imtiaz,Mohd Nazre Bin Saleh,Ghulam Murtaza,Allah Ditta,Sajid Mehmood,Waseem Razzaq Khan,Faridah Hanum Ibrahim,Seemab Akram

doi:10.3390/plants10101974

Abstract

Lack of proper infrastructure and the poor economic conditions of rural communities make them dependent on herbal medicines. Thus, there is a need to obtain and conserve the historic and traditional knowledge about the medicinal importance of different plants found in different areas of the world. In this regard, a field study was conducted to document the medicinal importance of local plants commonly used by the inhabitants of very old historic villages in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. In total, 58 plant species were explored, which belonged to 28 taxonomic families, as informed by 200 experienced respondents in the study area. The vernacular name, voucher number, plant parts used, and medicinal values were also documented for each species. Among the documented species, Poaceae remained the most predominant family, followed by Solanaceae and Asteraceae. The local communities were dependent on medicinal plants for daily curing of several ailments, including asthma, common cold, sore throat, fever, cardiovascular diseases, and digestive disorders. Among the reported species, leaves and the whole plant remained the most commonly utilized plant parts, while extracts (38.8%) and pastes (23.9%) were the most popular modes of utilization. Based on the ICF value, the highest value was accounted for wound healing (0.87), followed by skincare, nails, hair, and teeth disorders (0.85). The highest RFC value was represented by Acacia nilotica and Triticum aestivum (0.95 each), followed by Azadirachta indica (0.91). The highest UV was represented by Conyza canadensis and Cuscuta reflexa (0.58 each), followed by Xanthium strumarium (0.37). As far as FL was concerned, the highest value was recorded in the case of Azadirachta indica (93.4%) for blood purification and Acacia nilotica (91.1%) for sexual disorders. In conclusion, the local inhabitants primarily focus on medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases in the very old historic villages of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Moreover, there were various plants in the study area that have great ethnobotanical potential to treat various diseases, as revealed through different indices.

Highlights

Over the past few decades, several studies have indicated that the use of medicinal plants to treat various ailments is a common trend around the world [1,2,3]
The present study found that the Poaceae (6), Asteraceae (5), and Solanaceae (5) families represented the maximum number of medicinal plants
Different quantitative indices, such as Informant consensus factor (ICF), use value (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC), and fidelity level (FL), indicated that the local community in the study area was dependent on herbal drugs because of their poor economic conditions and lack of proper healthcare centers

Summary

Introduction

Over the past few decades, several studies have indicated that the use of medicinal plants to treat various ailments is a common trend around the world [1,2,3]. Ethnobotanical surveys are often conducted to evaluate the complex connection between local communities and wild species of plants [4] These surveys are crucial in understanding the cultural believes associated with the use and value of native plants. These types of studies help scientists to discover some novel drugs from plants [5]. Ethnobotanical surveys are confirming the significance of medicinal plants from a socioeconomic perspective [6,7] These sorts of surveys are important in preserving the indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants of a particular area [8,9]. Traditional ethnobotanical data on medicinal plants are required for the protection, conservation, and development of herbal drugs [2,10,11]

Methods

Results

Conclusion