Cross-cultural ethnomedicinal study of the wild species of the genus Berberis used by the ethnic communities living along both sides of the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir

Authors

  • Hammad Ahmad Jan Department of Botany, University of Buner, Swari, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5064-3886
  • Tawseef Ahmad Mir School of Life and Allied Sciences, BFIT Group of Institutions, Dehradun, 248007 Uttarakhand, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2320-7218
  • Rainer W. Bussmann Department of Botany, State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Germany and Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3524-5273
  • Muatasim Jan School of Life and Allied Sciences, BFIT Group of Institutions, Dehradun, 248007 Uttarakhand, India
  • Uzma Hanif Department of Botany, Government College University Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3425-6886
  • Sher Wali Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Plants have been the basis of human medical systems for thousands of years in Pakistan and India. This study was conducted to compare the traditional medicinal knowledge and species diversity of the genus Berberis that are widely distributed in the study area.

Methods: The data was collected through group discussion and face-to-face interviews from 2,368 participants during 2020–2022, using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: We collected a total of five species of the genus Berberis. Four species (Berberis aristata, Berberis lycium, Berberis pseudumbellata, and Berberis vulgaris) were documented from Kashmir Pakistan and four species (Berberis aristata, Berberis kashmirana, Berberis lycium, and Berberis pseudumbellata) from Kashmir India. The most commonly reported species in both areas was Berberis lycium. The most common group of diseases treated in Kashmir, India, was digestive diseases, and in Kashmir, Pakistan, liver and endocrine system diseases. The root was found to be the most used plant part in both regions (33% of all uses). The decoction was found to be used predominantly for the preparation of herbal remedies (26%).

Conclusion: The results of this study clearly show that ethnomedicinal knowledge is still alive in the study area, but due to political restrictions, the local people cannot share the knowledge easily.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Genus Berberis; Cross-cultural study; Kashmir Pakistan; Kashmir India

Author Biographies

Hammad Ahmad Jan, Department of Botany, University of Buner, Swari, Pakistan

Lecturer in Botany

Department of Botany, University of Buner, Swari, Pakistan

Languages: English, Urdu, Pashto

Tawseef Ahmad Mir, School of Life and Allied Sciences, BFIT Group of Institutions, Dehradun, 248007 Uttarakhand, India

 

 

Rainer W. Bussmann, Department of Botany, State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Germany and Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

 

 

 

Muatasim Jan, School of Life and Allied Sciences, BFIT Group of Institutions, Dehradun, 248007 Uttarakhand, India

 

 

Uzma Hanif, Department of Botany, Government College University Lahore, Pakistan

 

 

Sher Wali, Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Pakistan

 

 

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Published

2023-06-18

How to Cite

Jan, H. A., Mir, T. A. ., Bussmann, R. W., Jan, M. ., Hanif, U., & Wali, S. (2023). Cross-cultural ethnomedicinal study of the wild species of the genus Berberis used by the ethnic communities living along both sides of the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir . Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 26, 1–14. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/4987

Issue

Vol. 26 (2023)

Section

Research

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