Basic HTML Version
Medicinal Plant Research 2014, Vol.4, No.5, 35
-
45
http://mpr.sophiapublisher.com
38
Morus alba,
Morus nigra,
Prunus persica,
Punica
granatum
,
Saccharum spontaneum,
Tamarix indica,
Zea mays
and
Ziziphus jujuba
.
The area is under heavy biotic pressure in the form of
deforestation and overgrazing, which has been
considerably reduced regeneration of woody plants.
Human population explosion, uprooting of medicinal
plants by the local people and other casual factors are
responsible for habitat loss, soil erosion and proper
functioning of ecosystems. There is dire need to
conserve the biodiversity of the area in order to
provide the resources and resource alternatives for our
own survival in future. Some of the recorded plants
such as Pomegranate are very important as cash crops
in the area. Similarly Zizyphus wood is liked as fuel
wood. They are sold outside the area @ Rs. 250-270/
maund. Similarly, habitat deterioration has also lead to
the reduction in regeneration of many woody and
shrubby plants. The plants are used by local residents
for many diseases like cold, cough, Stomachache,
diarrhea, gonorrhea, dysentery and skin diseases,
kidney spain, typhoid, for hair, joints pain, swelling of
body, purification of blood, constipation, intestinal
worms, pimples and many other ailments. The area
has enormous potential for its natural resources. The
ethnobotanical knowledge in the area is gradually
being approved on from generation to generation. For
proper restoration of vegetation for sustainable use
ecological efforts are needed with the participation of
local community.
Conclusions
The various diversity and consensus indices show
considerable vitality of local plant use. The high
number of plants and uses reported, as well as the
number and originality of common plant names,
support this idea. Nevertheless, since informants were
selected from among people known for their wide
knowledge of plants and their uses, and their mean age
was more than 80, we may conclude that folk
phytotherapy is “aging”, in the sense that knowledge
of medicinal plants persists mainly in elderly rural
people with little schooling. The transmission of this
type of knowledge from generation to generation is
now threatened in this region and tends towards
disappearance. Sheikh Maltoon Town is just like the
“Natural Park” has good ethnobotanical potential for
medicinal plants. It is a suitable place for further
ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies. We
are aware that this study was not exhaustive, but only
a first contribution to the ethnobotany of this region,
focusing on medicinal plants.
Methodology
Study area
The district lies from 34°12'0"N 72°2'24"E. The
elevation of the valley is 1000 to 2056 m above sea
level. It is bounded on the north by Burner district and
Malakand protected area, on the east by Swabi and
Burner districts, on the South by Nowshera district
and on the west by Charsadda district and Malakand
protected area. The total area of the district is 1632
kilometers. Mardan district may broadly be divided
into two parts, North-Eastern hilly area and south
western plain (Khan et al., 2011b). Sheikh Maltoon
Town is one of the famous town of Mardan due to
expensive area most of the area is open from 1985
which showed the look of natural park (Figure 1).
Informed consent
Prior to the study, signed consent forms from each
interviewee were obtained. These individuals
constituted traditional healers, patients as well as other
traders (herbalists).
Sampling and interview of healers
A survey was conducted during 2008 to document the
traditional uses of plants. Due to the low education
level or lack of understanding of the English language
of most individuals, the structured questionnaires were
discussed on an individual basis and explained by an
interpreter. The results were then transcribed by the
interpreter as many could not write. The plants were
classified according to their economic value through
interviewing and filling questionnaires from drug
dealers, shopkeepers, fuel wood seller, local hakims,
and farmers but priority was given to local elderly
people and Hakims who were the real users and had a
lot of information about the plants and their traditional
uses. A total of more 400 individuals were interviewed.
As there are predominantly two markets in the
research area, the interviewees were divided equally
between these two markets.