Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Flora of Harighal, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The present study is the first quantitative ethnobotanical evaluation of Harighal, an inaccessible and unexplored area of District Bagh Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The major objectives of the present study were exploration, quantification and comparison of ethnobotanical knowledge among different rural communities of the study area.Methodology:Data about traditional uses of important medicinal plants was gathered form 79 informants (49 men and 34 women) using a semi-structured questionnaire. To accesses novelty and agreement of informants about plant use,s various quantitative indices including use value, relative frequency of citation, relative importance, fidelity level and informant consent factor were employed. Furthermore, data presented in the present study was also compared with twenty-two papers published from adjoining areas.Result: A total of 150 medicinal plants belonging to 98 genera and 60 families were documented. Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae were the dominant families having 15 species each. Herbs were the most used life form, and leaves were the most exploited plant part. Decoctions were the most preferred method used in preparation of herbal recipes. Mentha longifolia had the highest use value, Berberis lycium had the highest relative frequency of citation and Galium aparine had the highest relative importance value (1.05, 0.81 and 96, respectively). The highest informant consensus factor (ICF) was reported for digestive disorders. Mentha longifolia, Punica granatum, Zanthoxylum alatum and Olea ferruginea had 100% fidelity values. The Jaccard index revealed that uses of plants were more similar in two neighboring areas i.e. Pearl Valley and Toli Peer.Conclusion: In spite of living in the twenty first century, people of the study area still rely very much on herbal medicines as an effective way to treat various ailments. Elders and health practitioners of the study area are well aware of indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants, but young people are not much interested in herbal practices. Thus, valuable knowledge about the use of plants is on the verge of getting lost. The documentation of indigenous knowledge from such an unexplored area and the subsequent pharmacological and phytochemical validation of novel plant uses could serve as baseline for drug development.