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ETHNOMEDICINAL USES OF PLANTS BY THE PEOPLE OF KADHI AREAS OF KHUSHAB, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

RAHMATULLAH QURESHI^1,*, MUHAMMAD MAQSOOD², MUHAMMAD ARSHAD¹ AND ABDUL KHALIQ CHAUDHRY³

Abstract: The present research work was designed to gather indigenous knowledge of medicinal plant species, which are being utilized by the local inhabitants of arid (Kadhi) areas of Khushab, Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 48 plant species belonging to 45 genera and 32 families have been recorded which are being used for treating 45 different diseases/ailments during February-March, 2010. Most of the species (10 spp., 6.71%) were used for treating digestive ailments i.e. constipation and flatulence, followed by jaundice (9 spp., 6.04%), abdominal worms & blood purifier (7 spp., 4.70% each), whereas, 6 species were used as antilice, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and tonic, 5 species were used for treating acidity, flue and skin allergy. Fruits of plants were highly employed for the preparation of indigenous recipes (24.04%), followed by leaves (23.08%), seeds (11.54%), whole plant (10.85%) and roots (8.65%), while remaining nine parts were occasionally used.

^1*Department of Botany, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

²Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences (PIEAS), PMC, Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan

³Department of Forestry, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

^*Correspondence author E-mail: rahmatullahq@yahoo.com