PJB-2010-151
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF FOLK MEDICINE BY THE WOMEN OF KALAT AND KHUZDAR REGIONS OF BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN
RASOOL BAKHSH TAREEN, TAHIRA BIBI*, MIR AJAB KHAN**, MUSHTAQ AHMAD** AND MUHAMMAD ZAFAR**
Abstract
Kalat and Khuzdar regions of province Balochistan possess a rich history and culture of tribal society with regard to medicinal plants. Women use medicinal plant resources of the area for their ailments mainly digestive complaints, stomach problems, fevers, liver complaints, diabetes, children diseases and birth related problems. Information on useful folk medicines known to the women through experience of ages is usually passed on from generation to generation. Ethnomedicinal field surveys and field studies are important for systematic documentation. In the present paper 61 species of medicinal plants belonging to 56 genera of 34 families are traditionally used as medicines by the women for treatment of various diseases. Maximum number of species belongs to family Lamiaceae (9 species) followed by Asteraceae (7 species), Apiaceae, Papilionaceae (Leguminosae), Solanaceae and Zygophyllaceae (3 species each). It is concluded that, at present transmission of such knowledge from saniasi, herbalists and hakims to folks has been tremendously decreased as indicated by old women of the area. However, due to the ethnobotanical research activity in Balochistan, awareness in the local community and overall global trend towards the herbal medicine resurgence of the transmission of knowledge from the herbalist to local community has been initiated. Traditional herbalist or jogi do not tell the specific prescription to the local people as indicated from the present research. Hence most of the prescription possessed by the folks is related to the problems of digestive systems, fever or cough etc. Folk knowledge may be preserved and utilized for conservation.
To Cite this article:
Download
