Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Ethnobotanical Study of Traditional Medicinal Plants in and Around Fiche District, Central Ethiopia
1Abiyu Enyew, 2Zemede Asfaw, 2Ensermu Kelbessa and 1Raja Nagappan
1Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, University of Gondar, Post Box 196, Gondar
2Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Post Box 3434, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2014 4:154-167
Received: December 13, 2013 | Accepted: December 20, 2013 | Published: July 20, 2014
Abstract
An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was conducted in and around Fiche District, North Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia from September 2011 to January 2012. Ten kebeles were selected from North to South and East to West directions of Fiche District and its surroundings by purposive sampling method. Six informants including one key informant were selected from each kebele for data collection by using printed data collection sheets containing, semi-structured interview questions, group discussion and guided field walk. The plant specimens were identified by using taxonomic keys in the Floras of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics; informant consensus factor and fidelity level using MS-Excel 2010. Totally, 155 medicinal plants belonging to 128 genera and 65 families were recorded. Most medicinal plants (72.9%) were used for human healthcare in which Lamiaceae was dominant (11%) in which Ocimum lamiifolium, Otostegia integrifolia and Leonotis ocymifolia were the most common species. Herbs were dominant (43.87%) flora followed by shrubs (35.48%). The most frequently used plant parts for remedial preparation were leaves (38.1%) followed by roots (14.8%) and others. Fresh plant parts were used mostly (47.7%) followed by dried (13.5%) and the remaining (38.7%) either in fresh or dried. Among the preparations, crushing was the dominant (21.3%) form followed by squeezing (16.1%). The remedial administration was mostly oral (38.7%) followed by dermal (29%). The highest (88%) ICF was associated with intestinal parasites followed by emergency diseases (82%). The FL of Actiniopteris semiflabellata, Plantago lanceolata, Capparis tomentosa and Clerodendrum myricoides was calculated 100% irrespective of diseases. In conclusion, rich diversity of floras were mostly practiced in crude form and to prevent extinction of medicinal plants due to unsustainable anthropogenic activities, local communities need to give attention for in-situ and ex-situ conservation, which is harmonized with adoption of sustainable utilization patterns and preservation of their valuable biocultural knowledge. This documentation was first hand information and need to confirm through scientific investigation for the welfare of future generation.
Keywords:
Ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, Fiche District, medicinal plants, traditional healers,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
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ISSN (Online): 2041-0778
ISSN (Print): 2041-076X |
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