Ethnobotanical Study on Medicinal Plants Used by Indigenous Local Communities in Minjar-Shenkora Wereda, North Shewa Zone of amhara Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2010-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
An ethnobothanical study was carried out to document information on the use of medicinal plants by
the Minjar Shenkora Wereda People. The main method of study was semi-structured interview and
discussion with informants from among Minjars’ elders and healers. A total of 118 plants species
belonging to 53 families were identified for their medicinal value. Forty-eight species (40.67%) were
shrubs, 46 species (38.98%) were herbs and 16 species (13.55%) were trees. Very few climbers (8
species; 6.77%) are used in the local traditional medical practices. The result shows plant species
belonging to the families Astraceae and Lamiaceae are most used. A total of 75 plant species are used
for treatment of human ailments and 18 species are used for treatment of cattle diseases and 25 species
are used for treatment of both human and veterinary diseases. About 54% of the reported medicinal
plants are taken orally. Most of the plant species are wild, which is 90 plant species (76.27%) and 25
plant species (21.18%) are cultivated, and 3 species (2.54%) are both in the wild and in cultivate which
indicates that local people have little practice of bringing medicinal plants under cultivation. The
prepared traditional drugs are administered through different routes of administration. The major
routes of administration in the study area include; oral, dermal, nasal, anal, and ocular.Oral
administration is the dominante route (54.21%) followed by dermal route (28.91%) in which liqude
forms, smashed, jused, powdered forms; exudate forms are recorded methods of preparation
techniques. Some of the medicinal plant species documented from the study area have multiple uses
such as fuel wood which contains the highest value (44.26 % )followed by construction, and thus most
of these plants are found under threats. The threats of medicinal plant species is also one and the main
reason to the loss of the associated knowledge.
Key words: Indigenous knowledge, Medicinal plants, Minjar.
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Keywords
Indigenous knowledge, Medicinal plants, Minjar