Medicinal Plants Used for the Treatment of Ear-Nose Throat (ENT) Disorders in Lesser Himalaya- Pakis

Abstract

Etllllo-pllflrmacolog;cfll relevance: II is first ethno-botanicnl study from the Lesser Himalaya to document the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used for the treatment of ear, nose and throat disorders. The study aims to reporl and climax the ethno-botanical significance of medicinal plants for trealment of various disorders of ear. nose and throat. A1etllOds: A total of 170 infomlants including 55 males, 95 females and 20 Local herbalists were interviewed. In formation was coll ected using semi-structured interviews. data was analyzed and compared by quantitative eriulO-bOlallical indices such as Re lative frequency of citation (RFC), Usc value (UV), Fideli ty Level (FL) and Family importance value (rN), Results: A total of 74 medic inal plants (belonging to 65 gene ra and 43 fam ilies) are coll ected, identified and etlmo-botani catly assessed. The most dominant familie s are Asteraceae, Lamiaceac, Malvaceae, Rosaceae and Solanaceae (4 species of each) fo llowed by Apiaceae, Berberidaceae and Brassicaceae (3 species ofeach). In diseases treated, lhroat infections have highest proportion (44) fo llowed by ear infections (40) and nose infections (25) in the local communities. The most dominant life form of plants used is herbs (59%) followed by tree (20%) and shrub ( 17%) wbile the most commonly used plant parts are lcaves(28 reports) followed by another aerial part, tbe fmits (19 reports). There are 16 medicinal plants ha ving 100% FL. Use va lue (UV) and Relative frequency of citation (RFC) range frOI11 0.13 to 0.02 and 0.28 to 0. 16 respectively. r.n comparison. the FIV ranges from highest FrV i.e. 1.42 to lowest FlV i.e. 0.18. Conclusiolls: The Lesser Himalaya regions of Pakistan is rich in medicinal plants diversity. Quantitative analysis incl uding UV, RFC !:Uld FL retlect that local people sti ll used the diversity of plant species for curing variolls ENT disorders. It is recommended that such ethno-botanical heritage should be preserved and promoted on global level for analyzing phytochemi cal, phamlaceutical and other biological acti vities for future drug discovery.