Ethnobotanical Survey of Common Medicinal Plants Used by Alfacho Kebele, Amaro Wereda Area, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract A comprehensive assessment study with the objectives of identifying and recording traditional medicinal plants and practices were carried out in Amaro Woreda, Alfachokebele, Southern Ethiopia in February – June, 2017. Purposive sampling method was used to select traditional medicinal practitioners of the study area. Information was gathered from traditional healers using integrated approach of plant collection, semi-structured and scheduled interview. A total of 25local elder informants were participated. Data was analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics. A sum of 15 medicinal plant species belonging to different genus and families were reported. The habits of the plants were20 % shrubs, 33.3% trees and 40% herbs and 6.7% climbers. Most frequently used plant part was leaves (60%) followed by roots (20%), stem (13%) and the remaining were barks (7%). Most common mode of plant remedial preparation, was in the form of decoction (61%) followed by crushing and grinding (22%) and others like concoction (6%) and chewing plant part (11%). Most of the plant remedies were prepared from fresh material of the plants and the most widely used route of administration was oral which accounted (73%) followed by topical (13.3%) and inhalation (13.3%) While, remedial preparation and knowledge of elder healer transfer vertically in family. The investigation also revealed the existence of traditional healing knowledge and secrecy of medicinal plant by the elder healer, had conserved a verities of medicinal plants. Traditional Healers still play a great role in the primary health care systems in region where the modern health facility is limited. Therefore, large number of valuable resources, practices and indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants can solve problems of shortage of drugs at rural areas as well as drug resistance in different diseases.

Keywords Traditional Knowledge, Medicinal Plants, Ethnobotanical, plant remedial.

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Updated: January 20, 2024 — 8:48 am