Herbal medicinal uses and their practices in human health care and livestock from district Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND

In light of the increasing need, for global health care, traditional medical knowledge is receiving considerable attention in order to fulfil the public health needs not only for human health but also animal health.

OBJECTIVES

Thus, the aim of the study is to explore ethnomedicinal uses of plants in human and livestock health care of the study area.

METHODS

Data were gathered through arranged surveys and meeting techniques by focusing on 80 sources in the investigation region during 2018-2020. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices were calculated.

RESULTS

Eighty plant species (33 herbs, 21 shrubs, 24 trees and 2 climbers) belonging to 50 families, distributed in 74 genera, were being used in the study area. Forty-nine medicinal plants in the treatment of 42 human diseases under 52 natural recipes and 40 plants in 34 livestock diseases under 40 recipes were used, in which 9 plants are used commonly in ethnopharmacy and veterinary medicine. Jaccard index was used to predict the similarity and dissimilarity among cities of Pakistan and reflected the novel use of medicinal plants. Results showed that Boerhavia diffusa, Centella asiatica, Morus nigra, Nasturtium officinale, Rumex hastatus and Sageretia thea have the higher use value (UV). Comparative analysis with other studies strongly reflected the novel use of these plants because of the deep-rooted and unique sociocultural setup of study area.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research shows that the wild plants used in the study area are extremely varied, both in terms of species and function, and folk medicine is one of the main health care systems in the area.