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TRADITIONAL DRUG THERAPIES FROM VARIOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS OF CENTRAL KARAKORAM NATIONAL PARK, GILGIT-BALTISTAN, PAKISTAN

ISHTIAQ HUSSAIN¹^,², ASGHARI BANO¹^*, FAIZAN ULLAH¹

Abstract: Traditional medicines derived from indigenous plants play an important role in treating infectious diseases. This study examined traditional medicinal uses of indigenous plants and documented different traditional recipes used by local communities to treat different diseases in Baltistan Region. Forty-seven medicinal plants belonging to 22 families were collected. Twenty-one families were angiosperms, one was a pteridophyte (Equisetaceae), and one a gymnosperm (Ephedraceae). Crude extracts of these medicinal plants were used by the local people for treating diseases in a traditional system of medicine. Ranunculaceae, Asteraceae, Polygonaceae and Rosaceae were the most important families, each having five species with medicinal value. The species were found across a wide range of altitudes, from 2000 m to over 4000 m.

¹Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

²Department of Agriculture Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.