PJB-2023-506
Diversity of medicinal flora and traditional knowledge of Muzaffargarh District Punjab Province, Pakistan
Muhammad Afzal
Abstract
Ethnomedicine is an important part of different cultures across the globe. It has a central role in providing new medicinal plants to phytochemical exploration and effective drug discoveries for centuries. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted in the Muzaffargarh district of Punjab Pakistan aiming to assess the diversity of medicinal plants and associated knowledge. We used snow ball sampling technique for data collection. Semi-structured and open-ended interviews were carried out. The collected data were analyzed using relative frequency citation (RFCs), fidelity level (Fl), Use value (UV), and Informant consensus factor (ICF). One hundred and -sixty-eight (168) informants were interviewed. We recorded a total of 68 medicinal taxa belonging to 64 genera and 39 families. Fabaceae was the dominant family with (7 species,9.7%) followed by Moraceae (5 species, 6.9%), Myrtaceae, Poaceae, and Cucurbitaceae with (4 species, 5.5%) each. The growth habit constitutes 26 trees, 22 herbs and 20 shrubs. Regarding part used percentage leaves (23.61%) were frequently utilized as compared to seeds (15.27%), fruits (9.72%), roots (2.72%), and flowers (2.7%). Similarly, based on crude drug utilization, powder form ranked first and was used for 30 medications followed by (eaten fresh and infusion (4), powder and infusion (7), Infusion and paste (3) Eaten fresh and juice (3), powder and eaten fresh (4) and, paste and powder (2). In the region, abdominal diseases are cured with (36.11%) followed by hepatic ailments (29.16%), respiratory infections (27.78%) and dermal ailments (15.27%). In quantitative analysis, RFCs ranged from 0.178 to 0.005 and the maximum value was calculated for Azadirachta indica and Phyla nodiflora. Highest FL100% totaled for Capparis decidua and Triticum aestivum,Momordica charantia and Azadirachta indica. Moreover, UV ranged between 1.5 to 0.090 for Jasminum officinale and Leptadenia pyrotechnica. Dental and dermal disorders scored maximum ICF 1 and 0.285 respectively. Jaccard index analysis recognized 13 newly reported medicinal taxa from the studied area i.e., Salsola imbricata, Callistemon citrinus, Sesbania grandiflora, Grewia asiatica, Gossypium herbaceum, Vitis acerifolia, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Moringa oleifera, Pennisetum glaucum, Saccharum bengalense, Dendrocalamus strictus, Alhagi maurorum and Sesamum indicum.The inhabitants of studied area possessed substantial plant-based knowledge and limited to aged people. Saturating allopathic drugs, rampant urbanization, dominated drought conditions and unsustainable utilization are the potential depleting factors for indigenous knowledge and ethnobotanical resources. The findings advocate devising tangible plans to conserve both the ethnobotanical plants and associated knowledge of the studied area.
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