Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia

In the present study, the diversity of medicinal plants (MPs) and associated traditional knowledge of rural community herbalists to treat human and animals’ diseases were assessed in two districts in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Study participants were randomly selected for survey and focus group di...

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Autores principales: Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun, Jemal, Mohammed N., Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef, Fadda, Carlo
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119343
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author Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun
Jemal, Mohammed N.
Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef
Fadda, Carlo
author_browse Fadda, Carlo
Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef
Jemal, Mohammed N.
Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun
author_facet Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun
Jemal, Mohammed N.
Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef
Fadda, Carlo
author_sort Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In the present study, the diversity of medicinal plants (MPs) and associated traditional knowledge of rural community herbalists to treat human and animals’ diseases were assessed in two districts in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Study participants were randomly selected for survey and focus group discussions, while key informant traditional healers were identified through snowball/chain-referral sampling. The informant consensus factor (FIC) by ailment category and fidelity level (FL) for some MPs were determined. About 97 MP species were identified. Leaves, roots, and seeds are the parts predominantly used for phytomedication preparation to treat 30 human and 5 animal diseases. Diseases, such as epilepsy, arthritis, otitis media, and fever, are treated with a combination of 2–4 MPs. The FIC value ranged from 0.29–1.00, with most human diseases showing an FIC value of above 0.7. The FL value for the MPs ranged from 53–100%, with plants used to treat more than one disease tending to have lower FL values. Higher values of FIC and FL indicate high levels of traditional knowledge used to identify and administer medicinal preparations. Despite the frequent use of MPs, the four-cell analysis showed that most of them risk extinction due anthropogenic and climate factors. We recommend botanical gardens as a solution to sustainable conservation, study, education and a source for these declining MP species.
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spelling CGSpace1193432025-12-08T10:29:22Z Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun Jemal, Mohammed N. Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef Fadda, Carlo medicinal plants indigenous peoples' knowledge botanical gardens ethnobotany human diseases animal diseases plantas medicinales conocimientos de los pueblos indígenas jardines botánicos In the present study, the diversity of medicinal plants (MPs) and associated traditional knowledge of rural community herbalists to treat human and animals’ diseases were assessed in two districts in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Study participants were randomly selected for survey and focus group discussions, while key informant traditional healers were identified through snowball/chain-referral sampling. The informant consensus factor (FIC) by ailment category and fidelity level (FL) for some MPs were determined. About 97 MP species were identified. Leaves, roots, and seeds are the parts predominantly used for phytomedication preparation to treat 30 human and 5 animal diseases. Diseases, such as epilepsy, arthritis, otitis media, and fever, are treated with a combination of 2–4 MPs. The FIC value ranged from 0.29–1.00, with most human diseases showing an FIC value of above 0.7. The FL value for the MPs ranged from 53–100%, with plants used to treat more than one disease tending to have lower FL values. Higher values of FIC and FL indicate high levels of traditional knowledge used to identify and administer medicinal preparations. Despite the frequent use of MPs, the four-cell analysis showed that most of them risk extinction due anthropogenic and climate factors. We recommend botanical gardens as a solution to sustainable conservation, study, education and a source for these declining MP species. 2022-04-18 2022-04-19T13:40:26Z 2022-04-19T13:40:26Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119343 en Open Access application/pdf MDPI Mengistu, D.K.; Mohammed, J.N.; Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Y.; Fadda, C. (2022) Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Diversity 14(4): 306. ISSN: 1424-2818
spellingShingle medicinal plants
indigenous peoples' knowledge
botanical gardens
ethnobotany
human diseases
animal diseases
plantas medicinales
conocimientos de los pueblos indígenas
jardines botánicos
Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun
Jemal, Mohammed N.
Gebrehawaryat Kidane, Yosef
Fadda, Carlo
Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title_full Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title_fullStr Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title_short Diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the South and South-Eastern zones of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia
title_sort diversity and traditional use knowledge of medicinal plants among communities in the south and south eastern zones of the tigray region ethiopia
topic medicinal plants
indigenous peoples' knowledge
botanical gardens
ethnobotany
human diseases
animal diseases
plantas medicinales
conocimientos de los pueblos indígenas
jardines botánicos
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119343
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