Abstract
BackgroundThis study contributes to the current ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Swat Valley, Pakistan. District Swat possesses remarkable biodiversity owing to its varied topographical and climatic conditions, prompting a distinct human-plant association. Our hypothesis is that the presence of such a great biodiversity has shaped into a formal ethnobotanical culture in the area transmitted through generations. We suspect that the versatility of some plant species has greater influence on the culture. Therefore, the prime objective of the study is to understand this unique human-plant relationship in the valley and to create scientific roots for the selection and practice of herbs in the ethnobotanical domain of the district.MethodsPrimary data were collected using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with the locals. The data collected were used for calculating some important indices, i.e. relative frequency of citation (RFC), participant agreement ratio (PAR), frequency of citation (FC), Smith’s Salience Index (SI), Relative Importance Index (RII), Cultural Value Index (CVI) and a newly proposed, Ali’s Conservation Priority Index (CPI). Index scores were used as key identifier of the ethnobotanically important plants of the area.ResultsResidents of the Swat Valley have listed plant uses in 15 use categories. Around 9% of the respondents have a common consensus on the selection and use of plants for the treatment of evil eye with similar results for body cuts (8.2%) followed by psychological/neural ailments (8.0%). Respondents agree that Berberis lyceum Royle. dominates in all five indices. Skimmia laureola Franch. also constitutes one of the central plants of the ethnobotanical domain, ranking second in the SI, fifth in the RII, seventh in CVI, and third in the Cultural Importance Index. It holds the thirty-fifth position in the CPI. Over 80% of the population treat different diseases with herbal remedies. In the common ethnobotanical domain of the area, plants like Mentha longifolia L., Berberis lyceum, and Skimmia laureola are very important and have high salience and importance values, thus suggesting these plants are versatile for their uses in the study area.ConclusionIn conclusion, only some plant species are prioritised for their use in the ethnobotanical domain of the community. Medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) usage is widespread in the Swat Valley. The ethnobotanical knowledge could be used as a tool to understand the adaptability of a specific taxon in the area and the possible conservation risk to their existence.
Highlights
This study contributes to the current ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Swat Valley, Pakistan
Over half of the respondents (59%) acquired the ethnomedicinal knowledge from different parts of the society, not restricted to learn it from their family hierarchical lines (41%) while 69% of the respondents had more than one family member with the knowledge of use of the same medicinal plant (Fig. 1)
A great pessimism was found among the respondents as they consider that Medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP)’ use is decreasing due to many reasons; the most noticeable being the gradual scarcity of the plants in the wild and high prices in the local market
Summary
This study contributes to the current ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Swat Valley, Pakistan. There is an immense volume of literature available where a variety of studies have been carried out to document the intricate relationship between MAPs’ use in the aboriginals’ sociocultural and religious practices in various parts of Pakistan. Some of these findings suggest that the use of herbal therapies is directly or indirectly linked to the culture of the area [3,4,5], but no one has presented any sound proof of this relationship by applying modern statistical techniques. The current study was aimed to provide empirical bases for the presence of an ethnomedicinal culture in the Northern parts of Pakistan, where lies the great mountain system of Hindu Kush
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