Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan.
Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2017 Sep 25;13(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s13002-017-0172-9.
The inhabitants of mountainous terrains depend on folk therapies to treat various ailments; however lack of plant based research and geographical constraints set the traditional knowledge in jeopardy. Present study is the first documentation on traditional uses of plant species by the inhabitants of the Shigar Valley, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan.
Ethnobotanical data were collected over a period from July, 2013 to October, 2016 from 84 respondents, using semi structured questionnaire. Quantitative indices such as relative frequency citation (RFCs) and fidelity level (FL) were intended to evaluate the importance of medicinal plant species.
In total 84 plant species belonging to 36 families and 72 genera were recorded. Fabaceae was dominant with 7 species, followed by Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosacea (6 species each). Leaves, root, flowers, seeds and fruits were the frequently utilized plant parts, whereas among drug formulations, decoction (49%) was ranked first. Majority of the plant species were used to treat abdominal, respiratory and dermal ailments (31, 12 and 12, respectively). RFCs value ranged 0.477 to 0.11 for Tanacetum falconeri and Allium carolinianum, respectively; while Hippophe rhamnoides and Thymus linearis depicted 100% FL. Comparative assessment with previous reports revealed that traditional uses of 26% plant species counting Hedyserum falconeri, Aconitum violoceum var. weileri, Arnebia guttata, Biebersteinia odora, Clematis alpine var. sibirica, Corydalis adiantifolia and Saussurea simpsoniana were reported for the first time.
The endemic medicinal plant species and traditional knowledge of Balti community living in extremely high mountains area were explored for the first time. A comprehensive survey of this region could be significant to drive the existing knowledge in market circuit with sustainable collection, and to evaluate economic potential of the plant species. Additionally, social livelihood could be reinforced through establishing collection sites, transformation and drying centres for micro and macro marketing of medicinal plant species. Plants and people interaction in the Karakorum Mountains.
山区居民依赖民间疗法来治疗各种疾病；但是，缺乏植物基础研究和地理限制使传统知识处于危险之中。本研究首次记录了巴基斯坦北部喀喇昆仑山脉 Shigar 山谷居民对植物物种的传统用途。
2013 年 7 月至 2016 年 10 月期间，通过半结构化问卷从 84 名受访者那里收集了民族植物学数据。相对频率引文（RFC）和保真度水平（FL）等定量指标旨在评估药用植物物种的重要性。
共记录了 84 种植物，隶属于 36 科 72 属。豆科植物有 7 种，其次是菊科、唇形科和蔷薇科（各有 6 种）。叶片、根、花、种子和果实是常用的植物部位，而在药物制剂中，汤剂（49%）排名第一。大多数植物物种用于治疗腹部、呼吸道和皮肤疾病（分别为 31、12 和 12）。RFC 值范围为 0.477 至 0.11，用于 Tanacetum falconeri 和 Allium carolinianum；而 Hippophe rhamnoides 和 Thymus linearis 则表现出 100%的 FL。与以往报告的比较评估表明，Hedyserum falconeri、Aconitum violoceum var. weileri、Arnebia guttata、Biebersteinia odora、Clematis alpine var. sibirica、Corydalis adiantifolia 和 Saussurea simpsoniana 等 26%的植物物种的传统用途是首次报道。
首次探索了生活在极高山区的巴尔蒂社区的特有药用植物物种和传统知识。对该地区的全面调查可能具有重要意义，可以在市场循环中利用现有知识进行可持续收集，并评估植物物种的经济潜力。此外，通过建立采集点、转化和干燥中心，可以加强社会生计，对药用植物物种进行微观和宏观营销。喀喇昆仑山脉的植物与人类互动。
