Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants and Roles of Associated Local Knowledge in Conservation in Lume District, Central Ethiopia
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Date
2023-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate the uses of medicinal plants and the associated local knowledge in the Lume of central Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical information was collected from a total of 49 informants with 19 females and 30 males. Of these informants, ten were local healers. The informants were selected using a purposeful sampling method.
Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, guided home garden, and market surveys and analyzed using ethnobotanical tools. Eighty medicinal plants belonging to 75 genera and 43 families were documented, most (77.5%) could be used for the treatment of a wide range of human ailments. Herbs constituted the largest category (53.8%) of habits.
Among the total 34 ailments, the largest number of remedies were used to treat gastrointestinal disorders and parasite infections (22.8%), followed by external injuries (22.1%). The administration routes of medicinal plants used to treat human ailments were internal (oral, 50%) and external (dermal, 32.3%). The medicinal plants that were presumed to be effective in treating a certain category of disease, such as febrile diseases (0.91) had higher ICF values. This probably indicates a high incidence of these types of diseases in the area, possibly due to the poor socio-economic and poor sanitation of these people. Allium sativum was ranked first, followed by Zingiber officinale, both have various purposes in addition to medicinal value. Some species including Nigella sativa, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale, and others are supplied to the markets by the local farmers and merchants. In conclusion, there is local knowledge and habits of ethnomedicinal plant usage in the study areas of Lume, even if, the previous traditional knowledge passed method through only way of oral system, and the rare occupation of medicinal plants as their knowledge.
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Keywords
Ailment, Ethnobotanical Study, Lokal Knowledge, Lume, Medicinal Plant