Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
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Research paper
Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the most commonly used plants from Deosai Plateau, Western Himalayas, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan Abida Bano n, Mushtaq Ahmad, Muhammad Zafar, Shazia Sultana, Sofia Rashid, Mir Ajab Khan Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
art ic l e i nf o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 6 February 2014 Received in revised form 26 April 2014 Accepted 23 May 2014 Available online 24 June 2014
Ethnopharmacological relevance: The current survey was aimed to identify the prime important medicinal plants in terms of medicines and further pharmacological screening of such plants. As far as, we know, no reported data from Deosai Plateau have been published and this is the first documented information of the study area. Material and methods: Ethnomedicinal information of plants was collected through semi-structured interviews through a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method. Results and discussion: This study provided information of 50 medicinal plant species used to treat 29 different ailments. A total of 42 species (84%) were herbs while shrubs and subshrubs were represented by 8 species (16%). Leaves (37%) were the predominant plant parts followed by, roots (27%), aerial parts (13%), flowers (12%), fruit (7%), seeds (3%), and tuber (1%). Method of preparation fall into five categories including infusion (31%), paste (23%), decoction (20%), powder (18%), and juice (8%). Conclusion: The study area is rich in medicinal plant diversity growing in wild. Our efforts in this regard are only a little contribution to the ethnobotanical study of this area focusing on medicinal plants while more clinical studies are required in future to prove such claims of local inhabitants. & 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ethnomedicine Indigenous plants Deosai Plateau Alpine Zone Western Himalayas Pakistan
1. Introduction Medicinal plants, since times immemorial, have been used practically in all cultures as a source of medicine. Pakistan is rich in diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants due to its unique phytogeography with diverse climatic conditions. About 400–600 medicinal plant species out of 5700 are estimated to found in Pakistan (Malik et al., 2005). In early 1950s about 84% of population was dependent on traditional medicines for all or most of their medicinal use (Hocking, 1958; Mahmood et al., 2011a) but now this practice is limited only in the remote areas due to the urbanization and modernization (Gilani and Atta-ur-Rahman, 2005; Ibrar et al., 2007). Northern areas of Pakistan have a rich medicinal flora due to its varied range of altitude, rainfall and climatic conditions (Malcolm et al., 2002). The Himalaya, Karakuram and Hindu-kush mountain range have about 25,000 plant species, which is 10% of world's plant species, out of which approximately 10,000 are of medicinal importance (Pei, 1992). About 70% of the medicinal plants and
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 92 51 90643039. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Bano).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.05.045 0378-8741/& 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
animals in the Himalaya range are wild, 70–80% of the population depends on indigenous medicines for health care needs (Pie and Manadhar, 1987). Alam (2010) reported eight endemic species from Gilgit Baltistan region, Pakistan and Astragalus clarkeanus, Asperula oppositifolia subsp. baltistanica, Berberis pseudoumbellata subsp. gilgitica, Haplophyllum gilesii and Tenacetum baltistanicum were found critically endangered (CR) while, Aconitum violaceum var. weileri and Rhodiola saxifragoides were vulnerable (VU). Deosai Plateau have a total 342 plant species belonging to 36 families and 142 genera (Woods et al., 1977). Number of reports on ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants is increasing day by day in Pakistan (Mahmood et al., 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2011d, 2012, 2013b; Hussain et al., 2011; Fahad and Bano, 2012; Shedayi and Gulshan, 2012; Abbas et al., 2013). Though, Gilgit Baltistan region, having the prime importance for enriched diversity of medicinal plants and application of indigenous medicines in a local healthcare system, appealed numerous scientists to report the traditional medicinal treasure from different tribes/ districts (parts) (Wazir et al., 2004; Qureshi et al., 2006; Khan and Khatoon, 2007, 2008; Hussain et al., 2011; Khan et al., 2011; Fahad and Bano, 2012; Shedayi and Gulshan, 2012; Abbas et al., 2013). The current study was aimed to report the indigenous medicinal flora of Deosai Plateau, to document the herbal remedies of
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
reported plants, and to explore the highly used medicinal plants as herbal medicines. The current survey was also aimed to identify the prime important medicinal plants in terms of medicines thus helping to plan further studies on ethnopharmacological aspects. As far as, we know, no reported data from Deosai Plateau have been published and this is the first documented information of the study area.
2. Materials and method 2.1. Study area Deosai, Chilas, Kaghan, Kohistan and Kashmir fall in the Himalayan range, Pakistan. Deosai Plateau (30100 N 75130 E) is located in the north of the main Himalayan range in Gilgit Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan which covers an area of 5000 km2 with altitude 4115 m (14,500 ft) and is among the highest plateau of the world (Fig. 1). The study area remains snow covered over half of the year (snow is 7–8 yard deep). Deosai has a very short spring season from June to August with average temperature 5–15 1C. In whole winter area remains snow covered and temperatures always below the freezing point i.e. 25 to
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32 1C. The area receives abundant snowfall during winter and rain during the short summer season. Pastoral nomads move to Deosai in June along with their livestock and move to lower altitude valleys at the end of August. They collect medicinal herbs and trade in the local as well as national market of the country. Nine ethnic groups namely Shin, Yashkun, Mangole, Mon, Brokpa, Hor, Brusho, Kashmiri and Wakhi live in Gilgit Baltistan. Primary language spoken in the area is Balti (90% of the population) while the other locally known languages include Shina, Burshishki and Wakhi (Alam, 2010). The people of Skardu valley depend on the medicinal flora of Deosai Plateau. Skardu is located in Baltistan district at about 30 km from Deosai, and its population is 219,200. 192,290 are classified as rural and 26,910 are classifies as urban (Census, 1998). Majority of the rural population depend on medicinal plants for their primary healthcare needs. 2.2. Data collection A total of 171 informants including 17 herbalists, 142 male and 29 female were interviewed in the local language (Balti). Ms. Abida Bano was aware from the local language which permitted the accuracy of the data. Initially, data was collected by formal conversation with informants chosen randomly and then
Fig. 1. (a) Map of Pakistan showing Gilgit Baltistan, (b) Gilgit Baltistan, and (c) Deosai Plateau (the study area).
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focus on local inhabitants who collected plants for medicinal uses. Repeated queries were made to confirm the data. Further, confirmation of reported information was made through the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method involving local inhabitants through interviews, group discussions and administration of semi-structured questionnaires to herbalists (Jamal et al., 2012; Mahmood et al., 2013b). Data collected for each plant comprise the local name, parts used, preparation, application and administration route and plants were collected in the flowering season during July 2011 to July 2013. The specimens were pressed, poisoned, mounted on herbarium sheets and assessed. Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad identified the herbarium specimens and confirmed with the help of available (Nasir and Ali, 1970–2002) and voucher specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of Pakistan, Quaid-IAzam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. 2.3. Data analysis 2.3.1. Frequency of citation The data were reported as percentage and proportions. Each plant species reported by informants with respect to the indigenous information counted as frequency of citation was determined. 2.3.2. Use value The relative significance of plant species, for indigenous medicinal use by local communities was evaluated by calculating its use value described by Phillips and Gentry (1993). The use value of species is calculated as follows:
the majority at the age of 50–60 years, which reflected that this wealth of knowledge is vanishing due to the death of elderly rural people. Relocation of this knowledge from generation to generation is now endangered and tends towards disappearance. 3.2. Relative importance of plants Matricaria chamomilla was the predominant plant which exhibited the highest use vale 0.91, it attributed the sound recognition with local healers and efficient healing power against ailments. Followed by the Atriplex canescens exhibited UV as 0.88 and it was followed by the Medicago falcate (0.88), Melilotus officinalis (0.83) and Swertia cordata (0.79). Least UV was exhibited by Cortia depressa (0.09) and the increasing UV order was observed as Tanacetum dolichophyllum (0.10), Biebersteinia odora (0.10), Morina coulteriana (0.12), and Acantholimon lycopodioides (0.13). It is important to note that the plants which exhibited higher use value were frequently available from the study area while the plants with least UV were somewhat scarce in their availability from the study area. The results of the current study were also in the agreement with the previously reported UV from Gujranwala, Pakistan; similar conclusion was drawn in this report (Mahmood et al., 2013b). UV is the best tool, to evaluate the importance of plants. Plants with high UV reflected their high use in the study area and maximum therapeutic action against health problems. Such plants should be focused for further detailed findings of bioactive substances and pharmacological activities.
UVi ¼ ∑Ui=Ni
3.3. Plant parts used and diversity of growth forms
where Ui represents the number of use reports by each informer for specific plant species i and Ni is the total number of informer interviewed for specific plant species.
Plant parts used in herbal preparations were leaves (37%) followed by roots (27%), aerial parts (13%), flowers (12%), fruit (7%), seeds (3%), and tuber (1%) (Fig. 2). The leaves were the predominant plant part used in herbal preparations in this study. Compared with the previously published reports these results are in a similar pattern as leaves were found most frequently used part (Mahmood et al., 2012, 2013b). Among live forms herbs were the dominant over shrubs and trees with 84% of the reported plants while shrubs and trees account for 16%. The life form pattern in this study was in accordance with the previously reported life form pattern from India, where about 80% of plant species were herbs and remaining were shrubs and trees (Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2005).
3. Results and discussion The study area is the remote area of Pakistan. The low standard of life and scattered population in high terrains consequently minimized the modern healthcare facilities and scientific practices to the majority of the community. This is the main reasons which enhance the reliance of local people on medicinal plants. The people living in the surrounding areas of Deosai Plateau are dependent on wild plants for food supplements, medicine, farm nutrients and livestock feed. The flora of flimsy alpine meadows has been overexploited for traditional medicine because medicinal plant collectors invariably uproot the entire plant, regrowth is retarded. There is a dramatic degradation of habitat due to collection of shrubs to meet the fuel wood requirement as the temperature drops below 25 1C in winter (November–February) and there is no alternate source. The ruthless use of valuable medicinal plants of the grazing animals is indeed a great injustice. Pastures and rangelands are used for livestock herding by the local communities on a periodic basis like high pastures are used in summer and low rangelands in autumn. 3.1. Medicinal plant diversity and indigenous knowledge Table 1 contains the data for 50 plant species belonging to 45 different genera. These species belonged to 24 families, Asteraceae (10 species) was the most diverse plant family followed by Lamiaceae (6 species), Gentianaceae, Papilionaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae (3 species), Chenopodiaceae, Cryophyllaceae, Fumariaceae, Crasslaceae (2 species) while the rest of families have one species each. The informants were selected among people known for their broad knowledge of plants and their uses,
3.4. Herbal preparations and mode of application Method of preparation fell into five categories that were infusion (31%), paste (23%), decoction (20%), powder (18%) and juice (8%) (Fig. 3). Various herbal preparations and route/mode of application of herbal remedies were reported as internal or external use (Scherrer et al., 2005) in which water acts as dilution media in herbal preparations while some remedies were prepared from dry and fresh plant parts (Giday et al., 2003). Oral application was the preferred mode of application (80.3%), followed by the topical (19.7%). A study conducted in Bolivia reported the similar conclusion (Macia et al., 2005). 3.5. Therapeutic values The reported medicinal plants were used for more than 29 different types of diseases by the local community. More treated ailments and plants used in herbal preparations were cough/ fever (9 species), stomachache and wounds (6 species each), diarrhea and dysentery (4 species each), skin diseases (3 species), jaundice and gastric trouble (2 species each). However, respiratory
Table 1 Medicinal plants of Deosai Plateau used to treat various diseases. S. No. Family Apiaceae
2
Asteraceae
3
Asteraceae
4
Asteraceae
5
Asteraceae
6
Asteraceae
7
Asteraceae
8
Asteraceae
9
Asteraceae
10
Asteraceae
11
Asteraceae
12
Biebersteinia ceae Chenopodiaceae
13 14 15
Chenopodiac eae Crassulaceae
16
Crassulaceae
17
Cryophyllaceae
18
Cryophyllaceae
19
Fumariaceae
20
Fumariaceae
21
Gentianaceae
22
Gentianaceae
23
Gentianaceae
24
Grassulariaceae
25
Lamiaceae
26
Lamiaceae
27
Lamiaceae
Local name
Life form Plant part used/formulation Applications
Administration route FC UV
Cortia depressa (Don) Norman DP 51 Anaphalis triplinervis (Sims.) C.B. Clarke. DP 52 Artemisia absinthium L. DP 53 Artemisia maritima L. DP 54 Aster himalaicus C.B. Clarke DP 55 Echinops cornigerus DC. DP 56 Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl. ex DC.) Benth. DP 57 Matricaria chamomilla L. DP 58 Saussurea obvallata (Candolle) Schultz DP 59 Tanacetum dolichophyllum (Kitam.) Kitam. DP 60 Tussilago farfara L. DP 61 Bieberstein DP 62 Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt. DP 63 Chenopodium foliosum Asch. DP 64 Hylotelephium ewersii (Ledeb.) H. DP 65 Rhodiola imbricata Edgew. DP 66 Silene indica subsp edgeworthii (Bocquet) Nasir DP 67 Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke DP 68 Corydalis falconeri Hook. f. and Thoms. DP 69 Corydalis stewartii Fedde DP 70 Gentiana kurroo Royle DP 71 Gentianodes tianschanica (Rupr. ex Kusn.) Omer DP 72 Swertia cordata (G.Don) Clarke DP 73 Ribes orientale Desf. DP 74 Anisomalus indica (L.) Kuntze DP 75 Isodon rugosus (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd DP 76 Nepeta erecta (Boyle ex Benth.) Berth. DP 77
Ghang
Herb
Root decoction
Food poisoning, swellings
Oral
2 0.09
–
Herb
Leaves infusion
Food poisoning, diuretic
Oral
4 0.17
Bursay
Herb
Aerial parts paste
Skin problems, itching
Topical
8 0.23
Kho bursay
Shrub
Leaves infusion
Joint pain
Oral
4 0.16
Skunpo mindoq Herb
Root decoction
Dysentery
Oral
11 0.57
Charchu ng Lukhsp ur Sokhma
Wounds Jaundice Stomachache Diarrhea, rheumatism Wounds, rheumatic pain
Topical Oral with water Oral Oral Topical
15 0.65
Herb
Leaves paste Leaves powder Leaves juice Aerial parts infusion Leaves paste
Karfo mindoq
Herb Herb
Boils Cuts and bruises Intestinal worms
Topical Topical Oral
10 0.38
Api chot
Flower bud Root paste Leaves juice
Churut
Herb Herb
Oral Topical Oral
Khampa
Shrub
Cough, respiratory problems eczema, ulcers, sores, bites Insect repellent Antiseptic, blood purifier Snakebite
8 0.31
Khoros
Leaves infusion Flower paste Fresh flower Root decoction Leaves paste
Topical
19 0.88
Osay
Herb
–
Herb
Fruit juice Tender shoot Aerial parts
Eye infection Constipation Appetizer
Oral Oral Oral
5 0.19
Chundol
Herb
Root powder
Cough, fever Headache Anemia
Oral with milk
6 0.21
Bgul mindoq
Herb
Root decoction
Dysentery
Oral
11 0.49
Bajo mindoq
Herb
Leaves juice
Ophthalmia, stomachic, emollient
Oral
16 0.57
Shorot
Herb
Hair tonic cough, fever
Oral
8 0.40
–
Herb
Leaves Root decoction Flower decoction
Eye disease
Oral
5 0.24
Spanthing
Herb Herb
Skin disease, leprosy, leucoderma, constipation Stomachache, cough, fever Pneumonia, bronchitis, fever jaundice, cough
Oral Oral Oral
7 0.28
–
Root decoction Flower infusion Leaves infusion
Karfo sman
Herb
Askuta
Shrub
Leaves infusion Flower powder Fruit
Gastric trouble Fever, cough Purgative
Oral Oral with water Oral
Sunpo harswa
Herb
Aerial parts infusion
So- sman
Shrub
Dried leaves
Rheumatism, gravel in kidneys, uterine affections, Oral stomach and bowel ailments Toothache Oral
Mominan
Herb
Leaves
Cough, cold, fever
Herb
Herb
Oral
5 0.20 23 0.91
3 0.10
3 0.10
9 0.29
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
1
Species names and voucher number
12 0.36 18 0.79 11 0.32 6 0.19 8 0.34 12 0.42 1049
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Table 1 (continued ) Species names and voucher number
Local name
Life form Plant part used/formulation Applications
Administration route FC UV
28
Lamiaceae
–
Herb
Leaves infusion
Diarrhea, pneumonia, fever
Oral
16 0.23
29
Lamiaceae
Chashing
Shrub
Root decoction
Hair tonic, dental cleaning
Oral
13 0.48
30
Lamiaceae
Phora
Herb
Leaves paste
Skin eruptions
Topical
13 0.36
31
Morinaceae
Brangus
Herb
Root infusion
Eye disease
Oral
3 0.12
32
Orchidaceae
Broq lala
Herb
Tuber powder
Dysentery, malaria, tonic
Oral with water
9 0.52
33
Papaveraceae
Kham scur
Herb
Seed
Diaphoretic
Oral
5 0.19
34
Papilionaceae
Buksuk
Herb
Aerial parts paste
Wound healing
Topical
19 0.88
35
Papilionaceae
Serfo buksuk
Herb
Leaves infusion
Carminative, emollient
Oral
19 0.83
36
Papilionaceae
Chlama mindoq Herb
Aerial parts decoction
Joint pain
Oral
3 0.16
37
Parnassiaceae
Mulus
Herb
Root paste
Snakebite, wounds, boils
Topical
5 0.19
38
Plumbaginaceae
Marsi
Shrub
Leaves powder
Cardiac disorders
Oral with water
3 0.13
39
Poaceae
Harswa
Herb
Seed powder
11 0.31
Polygonaceae
Chunma
Subshrub
Oral with water
14 0.53
41
Polygonaceae
Sathing
Herb
Aerial parts powder Root decoction Leaves paste
Diuretic, emollient, febrifuge, tonic Bruises Jaundice, stomach pain Blood purification
Oral with water
40
Nepeta glutinosa Benth. DP 78 Otostegia aucheri Boiss. DP 79 Salvia nubicola Wall. ex Sweet DP 80 Morina coulteriana Royle DP 81 Satyrium nepalense D. Don DP 82 Papaver nudicaule L. DP 83 Medicago falcata L. DP 84 Melilotus officinalis L. DP 85 Oxytropis lapponica (Wahl.), Gay DP 86 Parnassia nubicola Wallich ex Royle DP 87 Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. DP 88 Setaria viridis (Linn.) P. Beauv. DP 89 Aconogonon tortuosum (D. Don) Hara DP 91
Oral Topical
10 0.23
42
Polygonaceae
Chusmin
Herb
Leaves infusion
43
Primulaceae
Sman harswa
Herb
Root paste Aerial parts infusion
44
Brama
Herb
45
Ranunculacea e Ranunculaceae
Domba
46
Ranunculaceae
47
Saxifragaceae
48
Scrophulariaceae Pedicularis punctata Decne. DP 98 Tamaricaceae Myricaria squamosa Desv. DP 99 Thymelaeaceae Daphne mucronata Royle DP 100
49 50
Polygonum aviculare L. DP 90 Persicaria amphibia (L.) Gray DP 92 Primula macrophylla D. Don DP 93 Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle DP 94 Aquilegia pubiflora Wall. ex Royle DP 95 Pulsatilla wallichiana Ulbr. DP 96 Bergenia stracheyi (Hook. f. and Thorns.) Engl. DP 97
Wounds, bleeding, piles Stomach pains, diarrhea, chest colds mouth blisters
Oral Topical Oral
9 0.45
Herb
Leaf powder Root powder Dried root
Diarrhea, liver inflammation, stomach pain Gastric trouble, Typhoid, tuberculosis Toothache
12 0.34
Oral with water Oral with water Topical
13 0.34
Ree-sman
Herb
Fruit
Dysentery, dropsy
Oral
11 0.55
Khichla y
Herb
Leaves infusion Root poultice
Oral Topical
8 0.52
Spanthing
Herb
Flower powder
Stomachache Diuretic Tonic Opthalmia Wounds, cuts Blood pressure, fever
Oral with water
6 0.46
Onbu
Shrub
Flower infusion
Antitussive, febrifuge
Oral
9 0.32
Scurbu
Shrub
Fruit pulp
Remove pimples, freckles
Oral
11 0.43
7 0.55
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
S. No. Family
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pressure. Leaves paste of Salvia nubicola is used against skin eruptions but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) it is also used for cough and cold. Papaver nudicaule is considered as diaphoretic whereas Khan and Khatoon (2008) documented that it is used to cure cough, fever, chest complains and heart problems. The present use of Melilotus officinalis is similar to the findings of Shedayi and Gulshan (2012). Primula macrophylla is used against diarrhea, liver inflammation and stomach pain but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) and Khan et al. (2011) it is used to cure asthma, cough, itching, eye redness, eye infections, irritations and diseases. Aconitum heterophyllum is used for the treatment of gastric trouble, typhoid and tuberculosis but according to Shinwari and Gilani (2003) it is used against rheumatism, abscess and boils. Myricaria squamosa is used as febrifuge and antitussive but according to Khan et al. (2011) it is used for wound healing. Daphne mucronata fruit is used to remove pimples and freckles but Khan and Khatoon (2007) reported that the same plant is used to cure muscular pain, nerve problems, eye disease and as insect repellent. Fig. 2. Percentage of plant parts used for herbal remedies.
4. Conclusion Plants are still a vital source of medicine for the local community to treat numerous ailments. The preservation of folk knowledge seems the result of continued reliance of local inhabitants on the wild flora. Many factors are threatening the diversity of medicinal plants in the study area, including overharvesting of medicinal plants, overgrazing, firewood, timber wood and wide scale conversion of the natural ecosystems to agricultural land. However, there is a dare need to provoke public awareness in term of the conservation of wild medicinal flora and associated knowledge. There should be developed a project on phytochemical and pharmacological screening of reported medicinal plants.
Fig. 3. Preparation methods of herbal medicine.
problems, eye diseases, constipation, asthma, and toothache were also reported to treat via ethnomedicines. Medicinal uses of reported plants were compared with the available ethnobotanical literature. To the best of our knowledge the medicinal uses of remaining plant species were not reported previously from Deosai Plateau and adjacent areas of Baltistan region. Artemisia absinthium is used for skin problems and itching but according to Qureshi et al. (2006) it is used for stomachic, malaria, anthelmintic and febrifuge. Artemisia maritima is used for joint pain, whereas Qureshi et al. (2006), Fahad and Bano (2012) and Shedayi and Gulshan (2012) documented that the same species was used to cure skin infections, gastro-intestinal ailments, boils, as anthelmintic, joint pains, fever, stomachache, cardiac stimulant, and tonic. Corydalis falconeri is used for cough, fever and hair tonic but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) it is used for cough, fever, nerve disease and hair elongation. Gentianodes tianschanica is used to cure pneumonia, bronchitis, fever jaundice and cough but Khan and Khatoon (2008) reported that the same species is used for abdominal disorders, liver problems, cough, bronchitis, jaundice, malarial fever, hair elongation, gastric trouble, diabetes, eye problems and blood purification. Ribes orientale is considered as purgative but according to Khan and Khatoon (2007) it is used for headache, joints pain, rheumatism and fever. Dried leaves of Isodon rugosus are used as toothache but Khan and Khatoon (2007) reported that they are also used for rheumatism, blood pressure and body temperature. The leaves of Nepeta erecta are used to cure cough, cold, fever but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) they are also used for influenza and blood
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Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jep
Research paper
Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the most commonly used plants from Deosai Plateau, Western Himalayas, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan Abida Bano n, Mushtaq Ahmad, Muhammad Zafar, Shazia Sultana, Sofia Rashid, Mir Ajab Khan Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
art ic l e i nf o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 6 February 2014 Received in revised form 26 April 2014 Accepted 23 May 2014 Available online 24 June 2014
Ethnopharmacological relevance: The current survey was aimed to identify the prime important medicinal plants in terms of medicines and further pharmacological screening of such plants. As far as, we know, no reported data from Deosai Plateau have been published and this is the first documented information of the study area. Material and methods: Ethnomedicinal information of plants was collected through semi-structured interviews through a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method. Results and discussion: This study provided information of 50 medicinal plant species used to treat 29 different ailments. A total of 42 species (84%) were herbs while shrubs and subshrubs were represented by 8 species (16%). Leaves (37%) were the predominant plant parts followed by, roots (27%), aerial parts (13%), flowers (12%), fruit (7%), seeds (3%), and tuber (1%). Method of preparation fall into five categories including infusion (31%), paste (23%), decoction (20%), powder (18%), and juice (8%). Conclusion: The study area is rich in medicinal plant diversity growing in wild. Our efforts in this regard are only a little contribution to the ethnobotanical study of this area focusing on medicinal plants while more clinical studies are required in future to prove such claims of local inhabitants. & 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ethnomedicine Indigenous plants Deosai Plateau Alpine Zone Western Himalayas Pakistan
1. Introduction Medicinal plants, since times immemorial, have been used practically in all cultures as a source of medicine. Pakistan is rich in diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants due to its unique phytogeography with diverse climatic conditions. About 400–600 medicinal plant species out of 5700 are estimated to found in Pakistan (Malik et al., 2005). In early 1950s about 84% of population was dependent on traditional medicines for all or most of their medicinal use (Hocking, 1958; Mahmood et al., 2011a) but now this practice is limited only in the remote areas due to the urbanization and modernization (Gilani and Atta-ur-Rahman, 2005; Ibrar et al., 2007). Northern areas of Pakistan have a rich medicinal flora due to its varied range of altitude, rainfall and climatic conditions (Malcolm et al., 2002). The Himalaya, Karakuram and Hindu-kush mountain range have about 25,000 plant species, which is 10% of world's plant species, out of which approximately 10,000 are of medicinal importance (Pei, 1992). About 70% of the medicinal plants and
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 92 51 90643039. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Bano).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.05.045 0378-8741/& 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
animals in the Himalaya range are wild, 70–80% of the population depends on indigenous medicines for health care needs (Pie and Manadhar, 1987). Alam (2010) reported eight endemic species from Gilgit Baltistan region, Pakistan and Astragalus clarkeanus, Asperula oppositifolia subsp. baltistanica, Berberis pseudoumbellata subsp. gilgitica, Haplophyllum gilesii and Tenacetum baltistanicum were found critically endangered (CR) while, Aconitum violaceum var. weileri and Rhodiola saxifragoides were vulnerable (VU). Deosai Plateau have a total 342 plant species belonging to 36 families and 142 genera (Woods et al., 1977). Number of reports on ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants is increasing day by day in Pakistan (Mahmood et al., 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2011d, 2012, 2013b; Hussain et al., 2011; Fahad and Bano, 2012; Shedayi and Gulshan, 2012; Abbas et al., 2013). Though, Gilgit Baltistan region, having the prime importance for enriched diversity of medicinal plants and application of indigenous medicines in a local healthcare system, appealed numerous scientists to report the traditional medicinal treasure from different tribes/ districts (parts) (Wazir et al., 2004; Qureshi et al., 2006; Khan and Khatoon, 2007, 2008; Hussain et al., 2011; Khan et al., 2011; Fahad and Bano, 2012; Shedayi and Gulshan, 2012; Abbas et al., 2013). The current study was aimed to report the indigenous medicinal flora of Deosai Plateau, to document the herbal remedies of
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
reported plants, and to explore the highly used medicinal plants as herbal medicines. The current survey was also aimed to identify the prime important medicinal plants in terms of medicines thus helping to plan further studies on ethnopharmacological aspects. As far as, we know, no reported data from Deosai Plateau have been published and this is the first documented information of the study area.
2. Materials and method 2.1. Study area Deosai, Chilas, Kaghan, Kohistan and Kashmir fall in the Himalayan range, Pakistan. Deosai Plateau (30100 N 75130 E) is located in the north of the main Himalayan range in Gilgit Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan which covers an area of 5000 km2 with altitude 4115 m (14,500 ft) and is among the highest plateau of the world (Fig. 1). The study area remains snow covered over half of the year (snow is 7–8 yard deep). Deosai has a very short spring season from June to August with average temperature 5–15 1C. In whole winter area remains snow covered and temperatures always below the freezing point i.e. 25 to
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32 1C. The area receives abundant snowfall during winter and rain during the short summer season. Pastoral nomads move to Deosai in June along with their livestock and move to lower altitude valleys at the end of August. They collect medicinal herbs and trade in the local as well as national market of the country. Nine ethnic groups namely Shin, Yashkun, Mangole, Mon, Brokpa, Hor, Brusho, Kashmiri and Wakhi live in Gilgit Baltistan. Primary language spoken in the area is Balti (90% of the population) while the other locally known languages include Shina, Burshishki and Wakhi (Alam, 2010). The people of Skardu valley depend on the medicinal flora of Deosai Plateau. Skardu is located in Baltistan district at about 30 km from Deosai, and its population is 219,200. 192,290 are classified as rural and 26,910 are classifies as urban (Census, 1998). Majority of the rural population depend on medicinal plants for their primary healthcare needs. 2.2. Data collection A total of 171 informants including 17 herbalists, 142 male and 29 female were interviewed in the local language (Balti). Ms. Abida Bano was aware from the local language which permitted the accuracy of the data. Initially, data was collected by formal conversation with informants chosen randomly and then
Fig. 1. (a) Map of Pakistan showing Gilgit Baltistan, (b) Gilgit Baltistan, and (c) Deosai Plateau (the study area).
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focus on local inhabitants who collected plants for medicinal uses. Repeated queries were made to confirm the data. Further, confirmation of reported information was made through the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method involving local inhabitants through interviews, group discussions and administration of semi-structured questionnaires to herbalists (Jamal et al., 2012; Mahmood et al., 2013b). Data collected for each plant comprise the local name, parts used, preparation, application and administration route and plants were collected in the flowering season during July 2011 to July 2013. The specimens were pressed, poisoned, mounted on herbarium sheets and assessed. Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad identified the herbarium specimens and confirmed with the help of available (Nasir and Ali, 1970–2002) and voucher specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of Pakistan, Quaid-IAzam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. 2.3. Data analysis 2.3.1. Frequency of citation The data were reported as percentage and proportions. Each plant species reported by informants with respect to the indigenous information counted as frequency of citation was determined. 2.3.2. Use value The relative significance of plant species, for indigenous medicinal use by local communities was evaluated by calculating its use value described by Phillips and Gentry (1993). The use value of species is calculated as follows:
the majority at the age of 50–60 years, which reflected that this wealth of knowledge is vanishing due to the death of elderly rural people. Relocation of this knowledge from generation to generation is now endangered and tends towards disappearance. 3.2. Relative importance of plants Matricaria chamomilla was the predominant plant which exhibited the highest use vale 0.91, it attributed the sound recognition with local healers and efficient healing power against ailments. Followed by the Atriplex canescens exhibited UV as 0.88 and it was followed by the Medicago falcate (0.88), Melilotus officinalis (0.83) and Swertia cordata (0.79). Least UV was exhibited by Cortia depressa (0.09) and the increasing UV order was observed as Tanacetum dolichophyllum (0.10), Biebersteinia odora (0.10), Morina coulteriana (0.12), and Acantholimon lycopodioides (0.13). It is important to note that the plants which exhibited higher use value were frequently available from the study area while the plants with least UV were somewhat scarce in their availability from the study area. The results of the current study were also in the agreement with the previously reported UV from Gujranwala, Pakistan; similar conclusion was drawn in this report (Mahmood et al., 2013b). UV is the best tool, to evaluate the importance of plants. Plants with high UV reflected their high use in the study area and maximum therapeutic action against health problems. Such plants should be focused for further detailed findings of bioactive substances and pharmacological activities.
UVi ¼ ∑Ui=Ni
3.3. Plant parts used and diversity of growth forms
where Ui represents the number of use reports by each informer for specific plant species i and Ni is the total number of informer interviewed for specific plant species.
Plant parts used in herbal preparations were leaves (37%) followed by roots (27%), aerial parts (13%), flowers (12%), fruit (7%), seeds (3%), and tuber (1%) (Fig. 2). The leaves were the predominant plant part used in herbal preparations in this study. Compared with the previously published reports these results are in a similar pattern as leaves were found most frequently used part (Mahmood et al., 2012, 2013b). Among live forms herbs were the dominant over shrubs and trees with 84% of the reported plants while shrubs and trees account for 16%. The life form pattern in this study was in accordance with the previously reported life form pattern from India, where about 80% of plant species were herbs and remaining were shrubs and trees (Ayyanar and Ignacimuthu, 2005).
3. Results and discussion The study area is the remote area of Pakistan. The low standard of life and scattered population in high terrains consequently minimized the modern healthcare facilities and scientific practices to the majority of the community. This is the main reasons which enhance the reliance of local people on medicinal plants. The people living in the surrounding areas of Deosai Plateau are dependent on wild plants for food supplements, medicine, farm nutrients and livestock feed. The flora of flimsy alpine meadows has been overexploited for traditional medicine because medicinal plant collectors invariably uproot the entire plant, regrowth is retarded. There is a dramatic degradation of habitat due to collection of shrubs to meet the fuel wood requirement as the temperature drops below 25 1C in winter (November–February) and there is no alternate source. The ruthless use of valuable medicinal plants of the grazing animals is indeed a great injustice. Pastures and rangelands are used for livestock herding by the local communities on a periodic basis like high pastures are used in summer and low rangelands in autumn. 3.1. Medicinal plant diversity and indigenous knowledge Table 1 contains the data for 50 plant species belonging to 45 different genera. These species belonged to 24 families, Asteraceae (10 species) was the most diverse plant family followed by Lamiaceae (6 species), Gentianaceae, Papilionaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae (3 species), Chenopodiaceae, Cryophyllaceae, Fumariaceae, Crasslaceae (2 species) while the rest of families have one species each. The informants were selected among people known for their broad knowledge of plants and their uses,
3.4. Herbal preparations and mode of application Method of preparation fell into five categories that were infusion (31%), paste (23%), decoction (20%), powder (18%) and juice (8%) (Fig. 3). Various herbal preparations and route/mode of application of herbal remedies were reported as internal or external use (Scherrer et al., 2005) in which water acts as dilution media in herbal preparations while some remedies were prepared from dry and fresh plant parts (Giday et al., 2003). Oral application was the preferred mode of application (80.3%), followed by the topical (19.7%). A study conducted in Bolivia reported the similar conclusion (Macia et al., 2005). 3.5. Therapeutic values The reported medicinal plants were used for more than 29 different types of diseases by the local community. More treated ailments and plants used in herbal preparations were cough/ fever (9 species), stomachache and wounds (6 species each), diarrhea and dysentery (4 species each), skin diseases (3 species), jaundice and gastric trouble (2 species each). However, respiratory
Table 1 Medicinal plants of Deosai Plateau used to treat various diseases. S. No. Family Apiaceae
2
Asteraceae
3
Asteraceae
4
Asteraceae
5
Asteraceae
6
Asteraceae
7
Asteraceae
8
Asteraceae
9
Asteraceae
10
Asteraceae
11
Asteraceae
12
Biebersteinia ceae Chenopodiaceae
13 14 15
Chenopodiac eae Crassulaceae
16
Crassulaceae
17
Cryophyllaceae
18
Cryophyllaceae
19
Fumariaceae
20
Fumariaceae
21
Gentianaceae
22
Gentianaceae
23
Gentianaceae
24
Grassulariaceae
25
Lamiaceae
26
Lamiaceae
27
Lamiaceae
Local name
Life form Plant part used/formulation Applications
Administration route FC UV
Cortia depressa (Don) Norman DP 51 Anaphalis triplinervis (Sims.) C.B. Clarke. DP 52 Artemisia absinthium L. DP 53 Artemisia maritima L. DP 54 Aster himalaicus C.B. Clarke DP 55 Echinops cornigerus DC. DP 56 Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl. ex DC.) Benth. DP 57 Matricaria chamomilla L. DP 58 Saussurea obvallata (Candolle) Schultz DP 59 Tanacetum dolichophyllum (Kitam.) Kitam. DP 60 Tussilago farfara L. DP 61 Bieberstein DP 62 Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt. DP 63 Chenopodium foliosum Asch. DP 64 Hylotelephium ewersii (Ledeb.) H. DP 65 Rhodiola imbricata Edgew. DP 66 Silene indica subsp edgeworthii (Bocquet) Nasir DP 67 Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke DP 68 Corydalis falconeri Hook. f. and Thoms. DP 69 Corydalis stewartii Fedde DP 70 Gentiana kurroo Royle DP 71 Gentianodes tianschanica (Rupr. ex Kusn.) Omer DP 72 Swertia cordata (G.Don) Clarke DP 73 Ribes orientale Desf. DP 74 Anisomalus indica (L.) Kuntze DP 75 Isodon rugosus (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd DP 76 Nepeta erecta (Boyle ex Benth.) Berth. DP 77
Ghang
Herb
Root decoction
Food poisoning, swellings
Oral
2 0.09
–
Herb
Leaves infusion
Food poisoning, diuretic
Oral
4 0.17
Bursay
Herb
Aerial parts paste
Skin problems, itching
Topical
8 0.23
Kho bursay
Shrub
Leaves infusion
Joint pain
Oral
4 0.16
Skunpo mindoq Herb
Root decoction
Dysentery
Oral
11 0.57
Charchu ng Lukhsp ur Sokhma
Wounds Jaundice Stomachache Diarrhea, rheumatism Wounds, rheumatic pain
Topical Oral with water Oral Oral Topical
15 0.65
Herb
Leaves paste Leaves powder Leaves juice Aerial parts infusion Leaves paste
Karfo mindoq
Herb Herb
Boils Cuts and bruises Intestinal worms
Topical Topical Oral
10 0.38
Api chot
Flower bud Root paste Leaves juice
Churut
Herb Herb
Oral Topical Oral
Khampa
Shrub
Cough, respiratory problems eczema, ulcers, sores, bites Insect repellent Antiseptic, blood purifier Snakebite
8 0.31
Khoros
Leaves infusion Flower paste Fresh flower Root decoction Leaves paste
Topical
19 0.88
Osay
Herb
–
Herb
Fruit juice Tender shoot Aerial parts
Eye infection Constipation Appetizer
Oral Oral Oral
5 0.19
Chundol
Herb
Root powder
Cough, fever Headache Anemia
Oral with milk
6 0.21
Bgul mindoq
Herb
Root decoction
Dysentery
Oral
11 0.49
Bajo mindoq
Herb
Leaves juice
Ophthalmia, stomachic, emollient
Oral
16 0.57
Shorot
Herb
Hair tonic cough, fever
Oral
8 0.40
–
Herb
Leaves Root decoction Flower decoction
Eye disease
Oral
5 0.24
Spanthing
Herb Herb
Skin disease, leprosy, leucoderma, constipation Stomachache, cough, fever Pneumonia, bronchitis, fever jaundice, cough
Oral Oral Oral
7 0.28
–
Root decoction Flower infusion Leaves infusion
Karfo sman
Herb
Askuta
Shrub
Leaves infusion Flower powder Fruit
Gastric trouble Fever, cough Purgative
Oral Oral with water Oral
Sunpo harswa
Herb
Aerial parts infusion
So- sman
Shrub
Dried leaves
Rheumatism, gravel in kidneys, uterine affections, Oral stomach and bowel ailments Toothache Oral
Mominan
Herb
Leaves
Cough, cold, fever
Herb
Herb
Oral
5 0.20 23 0.91
3 0.10
3 0.10
9 0.29
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
1
Species names and voucher number
12 0.36 18 0.79 11 0.32 6 0.19 8 0.34 12 0.42 1049
1050
Table 1 (continued ) Species names and voucher number
Local name
Life form Plant part used/formulation Applications
Administration route FC UV
28
Lamiaceae
–
Herb
Leaves infusion
Diarrhea, pneumonia, fever
Oral
16 0.23
29
Lamiaceae
Chashing
Shrub
Root decoction
Hair tonic, dental cleaning
Oral
13 0.48
30
Lamiaceae
Phora
Herb
Leaves paste
Skin eruptions
Topical
13 0.36
31
Morinaceae
Brangus
Herb
Root infusion
Eye disease
Oral
3 0.12
32
Orchidaceae
Broq lala
Herb
Tuber powder
Dysentery, malaria, tonic
Oral with water
9 0.52
33
Papaveraceae
Kham scur
Herb
Seed
Diaphoretic
Oral
5 0.19
34
Papilionaceae
Buksuk
Herb
Aerial parts paste
Wound healing
Topical
19 0.88
35
Papilionaceae
Serfo buksuk
Herb
Leaves infusion
Carminative, emollient
Oral
19 0.83
36
Papilionaceae
Chlama mindoq Herb
Aerial parts decoction
Joint pain
Oral
3 0.16
37
Parnassiaceae
Mulus
Herb
Root paste
Snakebite, wounds, boils
Topical
5 0.19
38
Plumbaginaceae
Marsi
Shrub
Leaves powder
Cardiac disorders
Oral with water
3 0.13
39
Poaceae
Harswa
Herb
Seed powder
11 0.31
Polygonaceae
Chunma
Subshrub
Oral with water
14 0.53
41
Polygonaceae
Sathing
Herb
Aerial parts powder Root decoction Leaves paste
Diuretic, emollient, febrifuge, tonic Bruises Jaundice, stomach pain Blood purification
Oral with water
40
Nepeta glutinosa Benth. DP 78 Otostegia aucheri Boiss. DP 79 Salvia nubicola Wall. ex Sweet DP 80 Morina coulteriana Royle DP 81 Satyrium nepalense D. Don DP 82 Papaver nudicaule L. DP 83 Medicago falcata L. DP 84 Melilotus officinalis L. DP 85 Oxytropis lapponica (Wahl.), Gay DP 86 Parnassia nubicola Wallich ex Royle DP 87 Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. DP 88 Setaria viridis (Linn.) P. Beauv. DP 89 Aconogonon tortuosum (D. Don) Hara DP 91
Oral Topical
10 0.23
42
Polygonaceae
Chusmin
Herb
Leaves infusion
43
Primulaceae
Sman harswa
Herb
Root paste Aerial parts infusion
44
Brama
Herb
45
Ranunculacea e Ranunculaceae
Domba
46
Ranunculaceae
47
Saxifragaceae
48
Scrophulariaceae Pedicularis punctata Decne. DP 98 Tamaricaceae Myricaria squamosa Desv. DP 99 Thymelaeaceae Daphne mucronata Royle DP 100
49 50
Polygonum aviculare L. DP 90 Persicaria amphibia (L.) Gray DP 92 Primula macrophylla D. Don DP 93 Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle DP 94 Aquilegia pubiflora Wall. ex Royle DP 95 Pulsatilla wallichiana Ulbr. DP 96 Bergenia stracheyi (Hook. f. and Thorns.) Engl. DP 97
Wounds, bleeding, piles Stomach pains, diarrhea, chest colds mouth blisters
Oral Topical Oral
9 0.45
Herb
Leaf powder Root powder Dried root
Diarrhea, liver inflammation, stomach pain Gastric trouble, Typhoid, tuberculosis Toothache
12 0.34
Oral with water Oral with water Topical
13 0.34
Ree-sman
Herb
Fruit
Dysentery, dropsy
Oral
11 0.55
Khichla y
Herb
Leaves infusion Root poultice
Oral Topical
8 0.52
Spanthing
Herb
Flower powder
Stomachache Diuretic Tonic Opthalmia Wounds, cuts Blood pressure, fever
Oral with water
6 0.46
Onbu
Shrub
Flower infusion
Antitussive, febrifuge
Oral
9 0.32
Scurbu
Shrub
Fruit pulp
Remove pimples, freckles
Oral
11 0.43
7 0.55
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
S. No. Family
A. Bano et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (2014) 1046–1052
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pressure. Leaves paste of Salvia nubicola is used against skin eruptions but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) it is also used for cough and cold. Papaver nudicaule is considered as diaphoretic whereas Khan and Khatoon (2008) documented that it is used to cure cough, fever, chest complains and heart problems. The present use of Melilotus officinalis is similar to the findings of Shedayi and Gulshan (2012). Primula macrophylla is used against diarrhea, liver inflammation and stomach pain but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) and Khan et al. (2011) it is used to cure asthma, cough, itching, eye redness, eye infections, irritations and diseases. Aconitum heterophyllum is used for the treatment of gastric trouble, typhoid and tuberculosis but according to Shinwari and Gilani (2003) it is used against rheumatism, abscess and boils. Myricaria squamosa is used as febrifuge and antitussive but according to Khan et al. (2011) it is used for wound healing. Daphne mucronata fruit is used to remove pimples and freckles but Khan and Khatoon (2007) reported that the same plant is used to cure muscular pain, nerve problems, eye disease and as insect repellent. Fig. 2. Percentage of plant parts used for herbal remedies.
4. Conclusion Plants are still a vital source of medicine for the local community to treat numerous ailments. The preservation of folk knowledge seems the result of continued reliance of local inhabitants on the wild flora. Many factors are threatening the diversity of medicinal plants in the study area, including overharvesting of medicinal plants, overgrazing, firewood, timber wood and wide scale conversion of the natural ecosystems to agricultural land. However, there is a dare need to provoke public awareness in term of the conservation of wild medicinal flora and associated knowledge. There should be developed a project on phytochemical and pharmacological screening of reported medicinal plants.
Fig. 3. Preparation methods of herbal medicine.
problems, eye diseases, constipation, asthma, and toothache were also reported to treat via ethnomedicines. Medicinal uses of reported plants were compared with the available ethnobotanical literature. To the best of our knowledge the medicinal uses of remaining plant species were not reported previously from Deosai Plateau and adjacent areas of Baltistan region. Artemisia absinthium is used for skin problems and itching but according to Qureshi et al. (2006) it is used for stomachic, malaria, anthelmintic and febrifuge. Artemisia maritima is used for joint pain, whereas Qureshi et al. (2006), Fahad and Bano (2012) and Shedayi and Gulshan (2012) documented that the same species was used to cure skin infections, gastro-intestinal ailments, boils, as anthelmintic, joint pains, fever, stomachache, cardiac stimulant, and tonic. Corydalis falconeri is used for cough, fever and hair tonic but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) it is used for cough, fever, nerve disease and hair elongation. Gentianodes tianschanica is used to cure pneumonia, bronchitis, fever jaundice and cough but Khan and Khatoon (2008) reported that the same species is used for abdominal disorders, liver problems, cough, bronchitis, jaundice, malarial fever, hair elongation, gastric trouble, diabetes, eye problems and blood purification. Ribes orientale is considered as purgative but according to Khan and Khatoon (2007) it is used for headache, joints pain, rheumatism and fever. Dried leaves of Isodon rugosus are used as toothache but Khan and Khatoon (2007) reported that they are also used for rheumatism, blood pressure and body temperature. The leaves of Nepeta erecta are used to cure cough, cold, fever but according to Khan and Khatoon (2008) they are also used for influenza and blood
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