RELATIVE POPULARITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS DIVERSITY AMONG THE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF KOH-E-SUFAID, UPPER KURRAM AGENCY, FATA PAKISTAN

Abstract

Ethno-pharmacological relevance Human dependence on plants dates back to prehistoric times. Besides other uses in everyday life, plants are used to treat various human ailments. This present investigation aimed at identifying the etlmo-medicinal potential of the medicinal plants used against different diseases. Materials and Methods To explore the ethno-medicinal knowledge, informal interviews were carried out with a total of 142 informants (122) males and (20) females. Results and Discussion A total of 80 medicinal plants species belonging to 47 families were used by the tribal communities to cure 12 ailment categories. Family Asteraaceae was found to be the leading family with 11 medicinal plant species. Leaves were the predominant used part (34%), followed by flowers (20%), fruits (19%), seeds (10%), roots and shoots (6% each), bulb (2%), whole plant, wood, bark (1 % each). Herbs were found to be the highest growth form (60%), followed by trees (23%) and shrubs (17%). Seriphidium kurramense was identified with highest Relative Frequency Citation (RFC). Family Nitrariaceae ranked with highest Family Importance Value (FIV). Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) is highest for Respiratory disorders (0.88). Perovskia atriplicifolia and Urtica dioica were the medicinal plant species with highest Used Value (0.33 each).