Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants among the Tribal Communities of Northern Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

Primitive human societies have always relied on plants and plant products for various remedies. In certain areas, these folk medical prescriptions are endemic and have survived through ages from one generation to the next through word of mouth. They do not exist as written knowledge. The present research work is based on Ethnobotanical documentation of the medicinal uses of plants in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Ethnomedicinal data were collected from Brahui and Pashtoon tribal communities through structured, semi-structured, free listening interviews, close and open ended questionnaires, analyzed and compared by quantitative indices such as Use Value (UV), use report (UR), fidelity level (FL), relative frequency citation (RFC), family importance value (FIV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and Disease-Consensus Index (DCI). A total of 102 plant species belonging to 47 families were reported from the Brahui communities while, 103 species belonging to 49 families were used by the Pashtoon communities to treat 13 categories of various diseases. The ethnobotanical interviews provided information about ethnomedicinal uses of 60 wild edible vegetables and 24 endemic medicinal plants. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were the most common plant families. Highest ICF value was recorded for antidote category. The most remedies were prepared in the form of decoction. The plant parts used commonly were leaves and whole plant. The local women appear to play an important role for the use of medicinal plants especially in the treatment of childbirth and postpartum disorders. About 46 plant species were used for postpartum disorders. The results of the study revealed that majority of the children were suffering from geohelminth infections in rural areas, due to lack of facilities and closed vicinity of human with their domesticated animals. About 49 plant species were reported against paediatric geohelminth infections. It is concluded that the area is rich in medicinal plants and these plants are still used by the local people. This explorative survey provides basis for the conservation of endemic and other flora and would be a great contribution in conserving valuable traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. It also provides baseline information for future in vitro and in vivo studies that could lead toward identification of novel active compounds It also provides various socioeconomic dimensions associated with the common people.