Medico-botanical plants from Phulgran village, Islamabad, Pakistan


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Naseer S., Qureshi R., Naseer S., Naseer A., Munazir M., Maqsood M., ...More

Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, vol.2020, no.1, pp.1-10, 2020 (ESCI) identifier

Abstract

© 2020. All Rights Reserved.The present study was conducted to document ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants used by local residents of Phulgran - a village located in the north of Islamabad. Phulgran is blessed with a great diversity of medicinal plants, but unfortunately there was sporadic information on its ethnobotanical information. For collection of ethnobotanical information, survey was conducted in study area for two consecutive years and ethnobotanical data was collected from 50 local inhabitants using semi-structured and open ended questionnaires. A total of 49 plant species belonging to 46 genera and 31 families were utilized for the treatment of various human diseases. Solanaceae was most exploited plant family (4 spp.). Majority of plant species were utilized for treatment of abdominal pain (9.85%) followed by earache (5.30%), constipation, dysentery and indigestion (4.5% each). The diseases treated in study area were classified into thirteen categories based on International classification of diseases (ICD), and digestive system problems (K00-K93), (R00-R99) were cured by highest number of plant species (42), followed by diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99) (14 species), and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99) (12 species). Most common parts of plant utilized in herbal formulations were leaves (25 species) and herbal medicines were most commonly administered orally. Among all documented plants Adhatoda zeylanica was used to treat highest number of diseases followed by Aloe barbadensis, Bombax ceiba, and Calotropis procera. The present study showed that local people of study area still rely on traditional herbal medicines. There is huge medicinal knowledge in study area that can be exploited for drug development along with conservation of valuable ethnoflora of study area.