Exploration of ethno-medicinal knowledge among rural communities of Pearl Valley; Rawalakot, District Poonch Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Ethnomedicinal Plants and Herbal Preparations Used by Rural Communities in Tehsil Hajira (Poonch District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan)

The present study emphasizes the importance of documenting ethnomedicinal plants and herbal practices of the local rural communities of Tehsil Hajira (Pakistan). The aim was to document, explore and quantify the traditional ethnomedicinal knowledge. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using various quantitative indices. The results showed that 144 medicinal plant species from 70 families and 128 genera play an important role in herbal preparations. The most common type of preparation was powder (19.0%), followed by paste (16.7%), aqueous extract (15.7%), decoction (14.7%) and juice (11.0%). Fragaria nubicola (0.94) and Viola canescens (0.93) had the highest relative frequency of mention (RFC), while Berberis lycium (1.22) and Fragaria nubicola (1.18) had the highest use value (UV). Geranium wallichianum (85.5), Ligustrum lucidum (83) and Indigofera heterantha (71.5) were the most important species in the study area with the highest relative importance (RI) value. The diseases treated were categorized into 17 classes, with diseases of the digestive system and liver having the highest Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) value, followed by diseases of the oropharynx and musculoskeletal system. Important plants mentioned for the treatment of various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are Zanthoxylum alatum, Berberis lycium, Mentha longifolia, Punica granatum, Rubus ellipticus and Viola canescens. New applications of rarely documented plants from this area are: Oxalis corniculata paste of the whole plant to treat vitiligo, Carthamus tinctorius flowers to treat chicken pox, Dioscorea deltoidea tuber powder to treat productive cough, Inula cappa root decoction to treat miscarriage, Habenaria digitata tuber juice for the treatment of fever, Viola canescens leaves and flowers for the treatment of sore throat and Achillea millefolium root and leaf juice for the treatment of pneumonia. These plants may contain interesting biochemical compounds and should be subjected to further pharmacological studies to develop new drugs. Traditional medicinal knowledge in the area under study is mainly limited to the elderly, traditional healers and midwives. Therefore, resource conservation strategies and future pharmacological studies are strongly recommended.

Study of medicinal plants used in ethnoveterinary medical system in riverine areas of Punjab, Pakistan

BACKGROUND

The use of medicinal plants to treat various veterinary illnesses has been practiced for millennia in many civilizations. Punjab is home to a diverse ethnic community, the majority of whom work in dairy farming, agriculture, and allied professions and have indigenous practices of treating animal illnesses using native flora. This study was designed to (1) document and preserve information about the applications of medicinal plant species in ethnoveterinary remedies among inhabitants of Punjab, Pakistan, and (2) identify popular plants for disease treatment by quantitative analysis of the obtained data and to assess the pharmacological relevance of these species.

METHODS

To collect data from informants (N = 279), questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. The ethnoveterinary data were analyzed using principal component analysis, relative frequency citation, fidelity level, relative popularity level, and rank order priority.

RESULTS

A total of 114 plant species utilized in the ethnoveterinary medicinal system were found, which were divided into 56 families and used to treat 16 different illnesses. The Poaceae family, with 16 species, was the most common in the region. The most commonly employed growth form in herbal preparation was herb (49%). The most used part in ethnoveterinary remedies was leaves (35%), while powder was the most commonly used way for preparing ethnoveterinary remedies (51 applications). According to principal component analysis, the most typically used species in the research region were grasses. Five grasses (Arundo donax, Desmostachya bipinnata, Eleusine indica, Hordeum vulgare, and Pennisetum glaucum) showed a 100% FL value when used to treat diuretics, helminthiasis, digestive problems, fever, cough, worm infestation, indigestion, galactagogue, oral infections, and genital prolapse. The maximum value of disease cured level (DCL%) was recorded at 87.6% for endo- and ecto-parasitic ailments in the study area.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that medicinal plants play an important part in satisfying farmers' animal healthcare demands, making it a feasible practice. The study also provides a wealth of knowledge regarding ethnoveterinary methods for further planning and application, providing an option for farmers who cannot afford allopathic therapy.

The sustainable use of diverse plants accustomed by different ethnic groups in Sibi District, Balochistan, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to analyze the utilization of medicinal plants (traditional as well as cultivated) and there recipes accustomed by different ethnic groups of Sibi District (SD), Balochistan, Pakistan. The study was carried out between 2018 and 2021 by using semi-structured and open-ended questionnaire.. The randomly selected methods applied for this study were mainly based on household surveys walk through and interview with indigenous communityage 40 to 80, a total of 75 plants, belonging to 63 genera and distributed among 33 plant families were recorded. The dominant Plant families were the Fabaceae (12%) of all studied taxa, followed by the Amaranthaceae (7%), Asteraceae (6%), Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae, Poaceae (4% each), Rhamnaceae and Zygophyllaceae (3%). Thirty traditional Food Recipes (TFR) and Traditional Medicinal Recipes (TMR) were novel being first time reported from SD., which are utilized by the local communities in their daily routine. These ethnic TFR and TMR have a tremendous role in preservation and sustainable use of traditional food habits and culture. It was also documented that along with cultivated, the wild edible and medicinal plant preparations play a significant role in in the economic potential and primary health care system of the local communities. The study recommends the specific measures, such as small industries, improved export means, tourism and educational activities, to protect the traditional knowledge and biocultural heritage of the region before its erosion.

An ethnomedicinal study in tulo district, west hararghe zone, oromia region, Ethiopia

Traditional medicinal plants used by local Oromo people of Tulo District in west Hararghe, Ethiopia, were investigated before people's medicinal knowledge vanishes. Data on medicinal plants and demography were obtained between November 2019 and October 2020 through semi-structured interviews, group discussion and direct guided onsite observation to elicit information from 376 non-traditional and 20 traditional medicine practitioners. Ethnobotanical indices including informant consensus factor (ICF), preference ranking (PR), fidelity level (FL), relative frequency of citation (RFG) and cultural importance (CI) were employed for the data analysis. Moreover; descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and linear regression were used to reveal the effects of socio-demographic factors on respondents' traditional medicinal knowledge. Totally 104 plants distributed among 98 genera and 55 families were enumerated for the treatment of 60 illnesses. Seventy-seven of these medicinal plants serve to treat human ailments, whereas 11 and 16 of them were used for livestock and for both, respectively. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were species rich families. Leaves were the most frequently (41.53%) reported structures for the preparation of remedies. Crushing was the principal approach (34.50%) of remedy preparation. Oral administration was frequently (66.08%) used route of application. The highest ICF was observed for swelling and hemorrhoid (0.90) category. Metabolic and degenerative as well as other ailment categories had the least ICF values. About 66% of medicinal plants had FL value of 100%. In PR, G. abyssinica was ranked first to treat cough. RFC values varied from 0.03 to 0.18 with the highest record for Salvia nilotica (0.18) followed by Lepidium sativum, Rydingia integrifolia and Nigella sativa each with 0.16; Euphorbia abyssinica and Asplenium monanthes each with 0.15. Extensive use of land for agricultural purpose was key threat to medicinal plant of Tulo District. All the tested socio-demographic features except religion significantly (P < 0.05) affected the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants possessed by the study population. The results of this study reveals that the people of Tulo District rely on traditional medicine of plant origin, and their indigenous knowledge is instrumental to exploit the most potential plants for further validation. Therefore, the medicinal plant species wealth of the study site and the associated indigenous knowledge need to be preserved.

Ethnobotanical study of endemic and non-endemic medicinal plants used by indigenous people in environs of Gullele botanical garden Addis Ababa, central Ethiopia: A major focus on Asteraceae family

Gullele Botanical Garden (GBG) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a joint venture of Addis Ababa government and the university. The garden has been built mainly to conserve the endemic plants and to advance the research on the endemic and non-endemic plants collected from different part of Ethiopia. Many traditional healers from the environs of GBG and different subcities of Addis Ababa depend on the garden for their practice of traditional medicine but there is no systematic documentation of the traditional medicinal knowledge of these healers. The main objective of the present study is to comprehensively document the ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal information from the traditional healers of different ethnic and cultural groups depending on GBG and to create a database of the endemic plants used by these healers. The ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal data obtained from 60 traditional healers have been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 81 medicinal plants belonging to 47 families have been identified. Majority of the plants used belonged to Asteraceae (12) family. The most frequently used plant form and plant parts are herbs and leaves. The major method adopted by the healers for preparation and administration of traditional medicine is crushing and topical, respectively. Skin and general diseases are the most important ailments treated by the healers. The three most cited plants used to treat diseases are Echinops kebericho Mesfin (60), Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F.Gmel (60) and Laggera tomentosa (A.Rich.) Sch.Bip. ex Oliv. & Hiern (58). The present study is the first systematic, qualitative, and quantitative ethnobotanical analysis and documentation done on the use of the medicinal plants from GBG for traditional medicine. In addition, our study reveals that E. kebericho is endemic and endangered plant and is highly used in traditional medicine. Therefore, GBG authorities should take steps for the propagation and restoration of this plant. Further it is suggested that the pharmacological properties of the roots and leaves of E. kebericho should be compared to find the possibility of use of leaves in place of roots for the preparation of traditional medicine which would help in conserving this endemic plant of Ethiopia.

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants of Pashat Valley, Bajaur, along Pakistan–Afghanistan border: a mountainous region of the Hindu Kush Range

Medicinal plants are the primary and effective source to cure various human ailments throughout the globe. The remote area of the Pashat valley at the Pakistan–Afghanistan border is still unexplored to document ethnomedicinal knowledge and practices. In the current study, the contemporary investigation recorded the native acquaintance of remedial plants. A total of 73 plant species belonging to 68 genera and 46 families were used by traditional communities for the treatment of 40 different kinds of human diseases including digestive, respiratory, urinary, skeletal, muscular systems, etc. The family Lamiaceae was found dominant with 9 species followed by Leguminosae and Solanaceae with 4 species each, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, Rhamnaceae and Rosaceae with three species each. The most frequently used parts of plants were leaves (35.7%) followed by fruits (22.4%), seeds (12.2%), roots (7.14%) and plants as a whole (6.12%). Whereas the remedy preparation approaches were in powder form (28.46%), decoction (26.15%), extract (20%) and a paste (11.54%). The quantitative ethnobotanical indices i.e. used value (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC), family importance value (FIV) and Jaccard index (JI) were calculated for all plant species. The used value (UV = 0.04) was found highest for Berberis lyceum, Myrtus communis, Punica granatum and Dodonea viscosa. Similarly, the maximum RFC value of 0.25 was investigated for Foeniculum vulgare and Olea ferruginea each. Besides, the highest FIV of 96.08% and 58.17% values were calculated for the family Lamiaceae and Solanaceae. This study shows that the corresponding area is rich in medicinal plants and could contribute to ethnomedicinal knowledge. The collected data will establish a baseline for the comprehensive investigation of active molecular constituents of the medicinal flora of the area. Soon, the exploration of these medicinal plants could discover new herbal drugs in the field of pharmacology.

Measurement of age-dependent radiation ingestion doses due to gross alpha and gross beta exposure from medicinal plants

This article presents the results of a study conducted to measure the gross alpha, gross beta activities in medicinal plant samples collected from different districts of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The ASC-950-DP gasless high-speed counter was used for the measurement of gross α/β activities. Measured activities have been used to assess age-dependent annual effective doses for infants, one-, five-, ten-, and fifteen-year-old and adult people. For a medicinal plant consumption rate (MPCR) of 1.8 kg a^-1, the average gross alpha and beta annual committed effective dose (ACED) delivered to one-, five-, ten-, fifteen-year-olds and adults fall below the WHO recommended level (290 µSv a^-1) and that reported in the UNSCEAR 2000 (0.3 mSv a^-1) report. Results obtained for the current study show that the radiological hazard related to the consumption of natural radionuclides in medicinal plants is inconsequential with exception of the ACED delivered to infants at an MPCR of 1.8 g a^-1 and higher values.

Study of plant resources with ethnomedicinal relevance from district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

An ethnomedicinal expedition was conducted to collect and record indigenous knowledge about the use of medicinal plants by local inhabitants of four villages (Chittra, Topi, Pandi, and Kalri) of district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Ethnomedicinal data were obtained from 60 randomly selected local inhabitants of the study area through semi-structured questionnaires and interviews. These data were analyzed quantitatively through different ethnobotanical indices including family importance value, relative frequency of citation, use value (UV), fidelity level (FL), informant consensus factor (ICF), and Jaccard index (JI). our study reported 69 medicinal plants belonging to 39 families. Rosaceae (9 species) was a dominant family of the study area. Herb (54.83%) was dominant growth form of plants used for medicinal purpose. Leaves contributed maximum usage (44.29%) for curing diseases. Decoction (23 records) was most used mode of utilization. Relative frequency of citation and UV ranged from 0.03–0.85 and 0.05–1.17, respectively. There were 4 plant species with 100% FL. Highest ICF (0.88%) was found for gastrointestinal diseases. By comparing results with previous study, JI ranged from 0.54 to 24.43%. Our results found that there were 18 plant species not reported with ethnomedicinal aspect in previous studies from district Bagh region. The research of this study concludes that the area is rich with medicinal plants and the local inhabitant of this area still prefer medicinal plants over allopathic medicines for treating different ailments. Comparative analysis has shown some novel uses of plant species which may be due to cultural differences of the study area. However, awareness and pharmacological study are needed to conserve and unveil pharmaceutically important plants.

A Review on Conventional and Advanced Methods for Nanotoxicology Evaluation of Engineered Nanomaterials

Nanotechnology can be defined as the field of science and technology that studies material at nanoscale (1-100 nm). These nanomaterials, especially carbon nanostructure-based composites and biopolymer-based nanocomposites, exhibit excellent chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, and many other properties beneficial for their application in many consumer products (e.g., industrial, food, pharmaceutical, and medical). The current literature reports that the increased exposure of humans to nanomaterials could toxicologically affect their environment. Hence, this paper aims to present a review on the possible nanotoxicology assays that can be used to evaluate the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials. The different ways humans are exposed to nanomaterials are discussed, and the recent toxicity evaluation approaches of these nanomaterials are critically assessed.

Medicinal plants resources of Western Himalayan Palas Valley, Indus Kohistan, Pakistan: Their uses and degrees of risk of extinction

Present study was intended with the aim to document the pre-existence traditional knowledge and ethnomedicinal uses of plant species in the Palas valley. Data were collected during 2015–2016 to explore plants resource, their utilization and documentation of the indigenous knowledge. The current study reported a total of 65 medicinal plant species of 57 genera belonging to 40 families. Among 65 species, the leading parts were leaves (15) followed by fruits (12), stem (6) and berries (1), medicinally significant while, 13 plant species are medicinally important for rhizome, 4 for root, 4 for seed, 4 for bark and 1 each for resin. Similarly, thirteen species were used as a whole while twelve species as partial for medicinal purpose. Further, it is concluded that every part of plants such as bulb, rhizome, roots, barks, leaves, flowers, fruit and seed were used for various ailments. Moreover, among 65 plants species, 09 species are threatened and placed into Endangered (EN) and Least Concern (LC) categories of IUCN. The recorded data are very useful and reflects the significance of the Palas valley as medicinal plants resource area.

Ethnobotanical survey of the medicinal flora of Harighal, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan

BACKGROUND

The present study is the first quantitative ethnobotanical evaluation of Harighal, an inaccessible and unexplored area of District Bagh Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). The exploration, quantification, and comparison of ethnobotanical knowledge among different rural communities of the study area were mainly focused during field survey.

METHODOLOGY

In total, 79 informants (49 men and 34 women) were selected randomly to collect data using a semi-structured questionnaire. Various quantitative indices, including use value, relative frequency of citation, relative importance, fidelity level, and informant consent factor, were employed to evaluate the gathered information. Furthermore, primary data were also compared with twenty-two papers published from adjoining areas.

RESULT

A total of 150 medicinal plants belonging to 98 genera and 60 families were documented. Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rosaceae were the dominant families having 15 species each. Of these, 76 species were indigenous, 74 exotic, 136 were collected in the wild, 10 cultivated, and 4 both wild-collected and cultivated. Herbaceous taxa were the most used life form, and leaves were the most exploited plant part. Decoctions were the most preferred method used in preparation of herbal recipes. Three species viz. Mentha longifolia, Berberis lycium, and Galium aparine had the highest use value (1.05), relative frequency of citation (0.81), and relative importance value (96), respectively. The highest informant consensus factor (ICF) was reported for digestive disorders. Mentha longifolia, Punica granatum, Zanthoxylum alatum, and Olea ferruginea had 100% fidelity values. The Jaccard index revealed that uses of plants were more similar in two neighboring areas, i.e., Pearl Valley and Toli Peer.

CONCLUSION

Local inhabitants still prioritize herbal medicines as an effective way to treat a wide variety of ailments. Elders and health practitioners of the study area are well aware of indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants, but young people are not much interested in herbal practices. Thus, valuable knowledge about the use of plants is on the verge of decline.

Cactus: Chemical, nutraceutical composition and potential bio-pharmacological properties

Cactus species are plants that grow in the arid and semiarid regions of the world. They have long fascinated the attention of the scientific community due to their unusual biology. Cactus species are used for a variety of purposes, such as food, fodder, ornamental, and as medicinal plants. In the last regard, they have been used in traditional medicine for eras by the ancient people to cure several diseases. Recent scientific investigations suggest that cactus materials may be used as a source of naturally-occurring products, such as mucilage, fiber, pigments, and antioxidants. For this reason, numerous species under this family are becoming endangered and extinct. This review provides an overview of the habitat, classification, phytochemistry, chemical constituents, extraction and isolation of bioactive compounds, nutritional and pharmacological potential with pre-clinical and clinical studies of different Cactus species. Furthermore, conservation strategies for the ornamental and endangered species have also been discussed.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Tengger tribe in Ngadisari village, Indonesia

The people of Tengger, Indonesia have used plants as traditional medicine for a long time. However, this local knowledge has not been well documented until recently. Our study aims to understand the utilization of plants in traditional medicine by the people of Tengger, who inhabit the Ngadisari village, Sukapura District, Probolinggo Regency, Indonesia. We conducted semi-structured and structured interviews with a total of 52 informants that represented 10% of the total family units in the village. The parameters observed in this study include species use value (SUV), family use value (FUV), plant part use (PPU), and the relative frequency of citation that was calculated based on fidelity level (FL). We successfully identified 30 species belonging to 28 genera and 20 families that have been used as a traditional medicine to treat 20 diseases. We clustered all the diseases into seven distinct categories. Among the recorded plant families, Poaceae and Zingiberaceae were the most abundant. Plant species within those families were used to treat internal medical diseases, respiratory-nose, ear, oral/dental, and throat problems. The plant species with the highest SUV was Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (1.01), whereas the Aloaceae family (0.86) had the highest FUV. Acorus calamus L. (80%) had the highest FL percentage. The leaves were identified as the most used plant part and decoction was the dominant mode of a medicinal preparation. Out of the plants and their uses documented in our study, 26.7% of the medicinal plants and 71.8% of the uses were novel. In conclusion, the diversity of medicinal plant uses in the Ngadisari village could contribute to the development of new plant-based drugs and improve the collective revenue of the local society.

The fodder grass resources for ruminants: A indigenous treasure of local communities of Thal desert Punjab, Pakistan

Indigenous people have been using local grasses for rearing their animals for centuries. The present study is the first record of traditional knowledge of grasses and livestock feeding system from the Thal desert in Pakistan. A snowball sampling method was used to identify key participants. Information was collected from the respondents from six districts of Thal Desert through semi-structural questionnaire and site visits. The data was analyzed through Smith's salience index and Composite Salience using ANTHROPAC package in R software. On the whole 61 grasses were recorded from the study area: most of them belong to the Poaceae family (52 species). Based on palatability grasses were categorized into three major groups i.e. (A) High priority, (B) Medium priority and (C) Low priority. Species in Group A, abundantly present in the study area represent a source of highly palatable forage for all ruminants. 232 (141M +91W) local participants were interviewed. Participants were grouped into three major age categories: 20-35 (48 participants), 36-50 (116 participants) and 51-67 years old (68 participants). ANTHROPAC frequency analysis confirmed the Smith's salience index and Composite Salience; Cynodon dactylon was the favorite species (6.46 SI, 0.6460 CS) followed by Cymbopogon jwarancusa (5.133 SI, 0.5133 CS) and Sorghum sp. was the third most salient species (5.121 SI, 0.5121 CS). Grasses were mostly available during the months of August and October and had also ethnoveterinary importance. This document about the traditional feeding of livestock in Thal Desert can underline the importance of conserving a traditional knowledge, which was poorly documented before.

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the rural communities of Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

BACKGROUND

Being an isolated locality and having a tough mountainous terrain, strong ethnomedicinal practices still prevail in Dhirkot and its allied areas, which have been rarely explored yet. The present study was intended with the aim to document and compare the traditional knowledge of local communities on botanical taxa of Dhirkot, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir.

METHODOLOGY

Ethnomedicinal data were collected from 74 informants using a semi-structured questionnaire in addition to field observation and group discussion. Various indices were also used to evaluate the ethnomedicinal data. Furthermore, the present findings were compared with previous reports to assess data novelty.

RESULT

A total of 140 medicinal plant species belonging to 55 families were recorded, which are used by local communities to treat 12 disease categories. Asteraceae was dominating with 20 species, followed by Poaceae, Lamiaceae, and Rosaceae (14, 11, and 10 species, respectively). Herbs were leading with 66% contribution, whereas leaves were the most utilized plant part with 29% utilization and decoction was the common mode of administration. Viola canescens depicted the highest use value and relative frequency of citation (1.7 and 0.92, respectively). Maximum informant consensus factor (0.88) was calculated for digestive and liver disorders. Five plant species including Berberis lycium Mentha arvensis Pyrus malus, Taraxacum officinale, and Viola canescens had 100% fidelity level.

CONCLUSION

Dhirkot and its allied areas harbor rich botanical and cultural diversity because of its unique geography and diverse climatic conditions. However, mostly, traditional ethnobotanical knowledge is restricted to healers, midwives, and older people, and could be extinct in the near future. Therefore, such documentation not only conserves traditional knowledge but may also contribute significantly to novel drug resources.

Ethnomedicinal uses of the local flora in Chenab riverine area, Punjab province Pakistan

BACKGROUND

Because of diverse topographical habitats, the Chenab River wetland harbors a wealth of medicinal and food plant species. This paper presents first quantitative assessment on the ethnobotanical use of plants by the local peoples residing in the Chenab riverine area.

METHODS

The ethnobotanical data were collected from six parts of the Chenab River wetland: Mandi Bahuddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sargodha, and Sialkot during 2014 to 2015, using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative indices including informant consensus factor (FCI), relative frequency of citation (RFC), relative importance level (RIL), use value (UV), fidelity level (FL), and corrected fidelity level (CFL) were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

On the whole, 129 medicinal plant species belonging to 112 genera of 59 families were reported, with herbs as dominant life forms (51%). Poaceae was the leading family with 13 species, and leaves were the most frequently utilized plant parts (28%). Herbal medicines were mostly used in the form of powder or decoction, and were mainly taken orally. Withania somnifera, Solanum surattense, Solanum nigrum, Azadirachta indica, Ficus benghalensis, Morus nigra, Morus alba, Polygonum plebeium, and Tribulus terrestris were among the highly utilized plant species, with highest UV, RFC, RIL, FL, and CFL values. The reported ailments were grouped into 11 categories based on FCI values, whereas highest FIC was recorded for gastrointestinal diseases and glandular diseases (0.41 and 0.34, respectively). The use report (UR) and frequency of citation (FC) depicted strong positive correlation (r = 0.973; p = 0.01). The value of determination (r² = 0.95) indicating 95% variation in UR can be explained in terms of the FC.

CONCLUSION

The significant traditional knowledge possessed by local communities depicts their strong relation with phytodiversity. Reported data could be helpful in sustainable use and protection of plant species in the Chenab wetland, with special emphasis on medicinal plants. Furthermore, screening of plant-borne active ingredients and in vivo/in vitro pharmacological activities could be of interest for novel drug synthesis.

Plants used by the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil: Aspects of popular knowledge

Studies in rural communities are important to maintain popular knowledge between generations, as well as to identify new species for pharmaceutical production. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine which plant species the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, uses by calculating the levels of fidelity and concordance regarding species uses among residents and to determine if there is a relationship between the number of known useful plants and levels of education, age, and residence time. Ethnobotanical data was collected from residents of the community through semi-structured interviews in January/December/2016. Species diversity was calculated using Shannon-Wiener, Level of Fidelity (LF), Correction Factor, and the Percentage of Agreement regarding the Main Uses (AMU). Statistical tests were performed using generalized linear models (GLM) in the R environment. The plant use indications were grouped according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD 10). We found 152 species belonging to 130 genera and 67 families. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves, and decoction was the most frequent preparation mode. Strychnos pseudoquina was the species with the highest amount of use indications. The diversity index was 4.5 nats/ind^-1. The body system with the most citations was the code XVIII of ICD 10, corresponding to the species: alfavaca, mentraste, terramicina, angelim, fedegoso. Medicinal species with AMU values higher than 25% were: Strychnos pseudoquina, Plectranthus barbatus, Citrus sinensis cv. pera, Cymbopogon citratus. There was a relationship between the number of useful plants and the residence time of the participants. The Bananal community revealed high species richness and the relationship of knowledge showed that the older the residents and the longer their residence time in the community, the more knowledge they acquired.