PJB-2020-1508
Ethno-medicinal plants and traditional knowledge linked to primary health care among the indigenous communities living in western hilly slopes of Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan
Shafiq Ahmad, Muhammad Zafar, Shehla Shinwari, Mushtaq Ahmad, Zabta Khan Shinwari, Shazia Sultana and Maryam Akram Butt
Abstract
Medicinal plants are the rich source of bioactive compounds so that’s why number of human ailments is treated by plant based medications. The main objective of this study is to document the local knowledge of medicinal plants used by indigenous communities living in western hilly Slopes of Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan with special emphasis on health issues facing by the local people of this area. Ethnobotanical data were recorded from 127 local informants. This data was collected through the use of questionnaires and personal interviews during field trips. Data collected in field was then analyzed by using different quantitative indices. Different quantitative indices were fidelity level (FL), use value (UV) and informant consensus factor (ICF). In this study 75 plants belonging to 78 families are reported for treating different human ailments with the highest number of species being used for Digestive disorders followed by respiratory diseases. Herbs (52 species) were found to be the most used plants. This study allows identifying many high value medicinal plant species of this region, indicating high potential for economic development through sustainable collection of these medicinal plants and these plants should be evaluated for further phytochemical screening and biological activities for future drug discovery and development.
To Cite this article:
Ahmad, S., M. Zafar, S. Shinwari, M. Ahmad, Z.K. Shinwari, S. Sultana and M.A. Butt. 2020. Ethno-medicinal plants and traditional knowledge linked to primary health care among the indigenous communities living in western hilly slopes of Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 52(2): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2020-2(19)
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