An Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants in Wondo Genet Natural Forest and Adjacent Kebeles, Sidama Zone, Snnp Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2011-06
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
An ethnobotanical study was conducted in Wondo Genet Wereda between December 01 to 23, 2010 and
February 02 to 21, 2011. The objective of this study was to document indigenous medicinal plant
utilization, management and the threats affecting them. Information was gathered from 80 people (63
males and 17 females). The informants, except the healers, were selected randomly and no appointment
was made prior to the visits. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews with
informants, field observations, guided field walk, group discussion, preference, paired comparison and
direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. The ethnomedicinal use of 85 plant species
was documented in the study area used as cure for 61 ailments. They are distributed across 79 genera
and 44 families. Of these, 54 medicinal plants were reported for human ailments treatment, eight for
livestock and 23 for both human and livestock ailment treatment. Most of the medicinal species were
collected from the wild. The most frequently utilized plant parts were leaves followed by stem bark and
roots. The largest number of remedies was used to treat intestinal parasites infections followed by
pneumonia and external injuries like body swellings. This probably indicates a high incidence of these
types of diseases in the area, possibly due to the poor socio-economic and sanitary conditions of the
people. The administration routes are oral, external, ear and nasal. Preference ranking analysis indicates
that Solanum incanum ranked first and most effective medicinal plant to cure intestinal problems
followed by Phytolacca dodecandra and Vernonia amygdalina in human and for livestock Ranunculus
multifidus ranked first and most effective medicinal plant to cure pneumonia. The pair wise comparison
showed that Stephania abyssinica ranked first and most effective medicinal plant to cure jaundice in
humans as compared to the others. Direct matrix analysis showed that Eucalyptus citriodora ranked first
and it is the most preferred plant by local people for various uses. Cordia africana and Podocarpus
falcatus scored second and third. This shows that both trees are more preferable or have high utility
value for the local community. The medicinal plants that were presumed to be effective in treating a
certain disease had higher ICF values. Informant consensus analysis showed that ailments like rabies,
poisoning and snake bite scored the highest value (0.98). Evil spirit and evil eye scored the second
highest value (0.97). Wound and body swelling (0.83), intestinal parasite (0.75) and pneumonia and
jaundice scored the lowest values (0.63) respectively. The principal threatening factors for medicinal
plants reported were agricultural expansion and fire. Documenting the eroding plants and associated
indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and
sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area.
Key words: Wondo Genet, Medicinal plant, Indigenous knowledge, Informant consensus
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Keywords
Wondo Genet, Medicinal plant, Indigenous knowledge, Informant consensus