Composition of homegarden plants and cultural use in an indigenous community in Northwest Ethiopia

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Dibatie district, Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, western Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Herbal medicine has been used for the treatment of human and livestock ailments since ancient times. Numerous rural and urban communities in Ethiopia practice traditional medicine and transfer the knowledge verbally from generation to generation. Thus, this study was conducted to document the traditional medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge in Dibatie district, Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, western Ethiopia.

METHODS

Three hundred seventy-four (374) informants from 11 kebeles (the smallest administrative units) were selected and participated in the data delivery. The ethnobotanical data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, field observation, market surveys, and focus group discussions, including voucher specimen collections. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage), ranking, comparison, and quantitative ethnobotanical techniques such as informant consensus factor, fidelity level index, Jaccard's coefficient of similarity, and use value index.

RESULTS

A total of 170 plant species were recorded to treat 79 human and 29 livestock ailments. Fabaceae (with 20 species) and Asteraceae (with 18 species) were the most dominant medicinal plant families in the area. Most remedial plants were herbs (61 species, 35.88%), followed by shrubs (39 species, 22.94%). The majority (135 species, 79.41%) of medicinal plants were harvested from wild sources and mainly possessed multiple remedy parts (41.17%) that are usually prescribed in fresh form (60.13%). The most commonly reported human ailment was snake venom, while blackleg was mostly reported among livestock diseases. The herbal medicines were mostly administered orally (52.20%), followed by dermal (17.62%) application. Embelia schimperi Vatke, Glinus lotoides L., Haplosciadium abyssinicum Hochst., Mucuna melanocarpa Hochst. ex A. Rich., and Phragmanthera macrosolen (Steud. ex A. Rich.) M.G.Gilbert had the highest fidelity level values (100%) against the corresponding ailments.

CONCLUSION

The study area is rich in a diversity of potential medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge. Thus, appropriate conservation actions and careful utilization are essential to counteract the rise of anthropogenic threats and to ensure the continuity of plants with the related indigenous knowledge. Additionally, the medicinal plants should be validated through experimentation to integrate local knowledge with modern medications.

Ecological determinants in plant community structure across dry afromontane forest patches of Northwestern Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a mountainous country with great geographic diversity. The diversified topographic features in Ethiopia made the country have a rich biodiversity forest cover in tropical Africa. This made Ethiopia have the largest floral diversity in tropical Africa. This floral diversity is rich in endemic elements. About 6,027 vascular plant species (including subspecies) with about 10.7% endemism have been documented. Plant community types are primarily influenced by topographic factors, as well as disturbance and environmental factors. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that 1: The forest patches in the study area exhibit distinct plant community types. 2: The composition and structure of these plant communities are influenced by various environmental variables. To achieve this, a total of 76 plots were used to collect vegetation and environmental data. The collected data were then analyzed using the R software, employing agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify plant communities and assess the relationship between these communities and environmental variables.R software was used to identify plant communities and analyze the relationship between plant community types and environmental variables using agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA). Four plant community types were identified. The RDA results highlighted the significant impact (p < 0.005) of altitude, aspect, slope, grazing, and human interference on species distribution and the formation of plant communities. The RDA results highlighted the significant impact (p < 0.005) of altitude, aspect, slope, grazing, and human interference on species distribution and the formation of plant communities.The findings indicate that the variation in plant communities is closely associated with topographic factors such as altitude, slope, aspect, as well as disturbance factors like grazing, and human interference, with altitude being the most influential factor. Based on these findings, it is recommended that conservation plans take into consideration the effects of grazing and human interference in order to address the challenges faced in conserving forest patches in the future.Additionally, further research efforts should focus on mitigating disturbance factors and understanding the environmental variables that affect forest patches to enhance their conservation.

An ethnobotanical survey on phytomedicines based on traditional knowledge in the Barpeta district, Assam, India

BACKGROUND

Traditional knowledge (TK) is the culture as well as the identity of the majority of the ethnic communities. This knowledge is diminishing with time and with the advancement of synthetic medicines. The medicinal plants are equally effective with fewer side effects when compared to allopathic treatments for humans as well as livestock.

OBJECTIVE

The main focus of this study is to document the use of plants for the treatment of human ailments by traditional healers in the Barpeta district of Assam.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey was conducted to gather information on phytomedicines from among the 30 local practitioners or traditional healers in the Barpeta district of Assam state through face-to-face interviews and discussions. The data obtained from the study was compiled through the UR (Use report). The data was analyzed by Fic (informant consensus factor) and RFC (relative frequency of citation). The botanical name of the plants was verified using https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list.

RESULTS

A total of 50 plant species having medicinal benefits belonging to 48 genera and 30 families were recorded. The leaves were the most used parts used in treatment accounting for 74% of the total and were usually used by extracting the juice. Besides, the most common disease treated using herbal medicines includes that of the GIT (gastrointestinal tract). The GIT disease category showed the highest Fic index which is 0.25. The plant species Syzygium cumini showed the highest RFC index of 0.50.

CONCLUSIONS

The common people of the Barpeta district of Assam are found to be familiar with the practice of traditional medicines. This knowledge has mostly been passed down to generations from their ancestors who acquired it through trial and error methods. These medicinal plants are used in crude form. Therefore, the plants must be thoroughly analyzed and tested to identify the active principles involved in their mechanism of action which can be used in drug development.