Medicinal Plants Used for Treating Human and Livestock Ailments in Tiyo District, Arsi Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Systematic documentation and promotion of indigenous knowledge associated with medicinal plants are limited. The aim of this study was to undertake ethnobotanical investigation on medicinal plants used for the treatment of human and livestock ailments and document indigenous knowledge of local communities on the preparation and administration of herbal remedies in the study area. Methods The study involved 153 informants from nine kebeles, comprising traditional healers, knowledgeable elders and local user communities. Various ethnobotanical techniques were used to collect and analyze data: semi- structured interview, guided field walk, group discussion, preference ranking, and fidelity level index. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis. Results Local communities had rich and diverse indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants, types of ailments, methods of remedy preparations and routes of applications. There were differences in this indigenous knowledge across age and sex. A total of 83 medicinal plants were documented during this study. Fifty two (62.65%) plants were used for treating human ailments, 20 species (24.10%) for treating health problems of livestock and the remaining 11 (13.25%) for treating both human and livestock ailments. The highest informant consensus was documented for the plants Allium sativum , Asparagus africanus and Azadirachta indica. Leaves were the most commonly used parts of medicinal plants accounting for 51.81% of the total followed by roots (20.48%) and barks (2.41%). Oral administration of the herbal medicine was the dominant route 66.3%, followed by dermal (22.7%) which included washing, holding on, rubbing and brushing. Smoking (8.5%) was also important. It was documented that 27 species (32.5%) were used in fresh, 13 species (15.7%) dried and 43 species (51.8%) either in dry or fresh state. Conclusion Owing to their access, curing ability, manageable charges, existence of deep indigenous knowledge and other associated cultural values, medicinal plants continued to play a significant role in meeting healthcare needs of the community in the study area. Conservation and sustainable use of the diverse medicinal plants need to be promoted. Systemic documentation and protection of the rich knowledge of local communities and further research on selected potential species was recommended as a result of this study.

Biosynthesis of Artemisia abyssinica Leaf Extract-Mediated Bimetallic ZnO–CuO Nanoparticles: Antioxidant, Anticancer, and Molecular Docking Studies

“…36 The leaves part of the medicinal plant A. abyssinica was collected from Tiyo Woreda, Arsi Zone, on September 2022. Tiyo Woreda, demarcated (7°45′55″ and 8°02′02″N latitude and 38°56′42″ to 39°18′31″E longitude), is found in Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, which is located at 175 km southeast of Addis Ababa with an elevation range of 1850 to 4050 m. 35 The collected plant was authenticated by a botanist and deposited in the National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, with voucher specimen number YC008. The leaves of A. abyssinica were washed with tap and distilled water repeatedly and dried for 13 days in the dark to remove the moisture content.…”

“…However, using plant extracts has a low handling cost, safer, and is an easy technique to fabricate NPs on a large scale in comparison with bacterial and fungal strains. 34,35 Furthermore, the multifarious functional groups from phytochemicals of plant extracts, counting NH 2 , SH, COOH, C�O, and OH, are used as greener and stronger reducing and capping agents. 36,37 Using medicinal plants for the synthesis of NPs can also exhibit further synergistic effects on biological activity.…”