Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat human ailments in Oda-Bultum district, west Hararghe zone of Oromia region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract

Background. Traditional medicinal plants of Oda-Bultum district in west Hararghe, Ethiopia were studied.

Methods. Medicinal plants and socio-demographic features were obtained through semi-structured interviews, group discussion and guided onsite observation from 395 respondents. Informant consensus factor, preference ranking and fidelity level were employed for the data analysis. Moreover; descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and linear regression were used to reveal the effects of socio-demographic factors on respondents’ traditional medicinal knowledge.

Results. Totally 161 species distributed among 68 families were enumerated for the treatment of 70 human ailments. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were species rich families. Leaves were the most frequently (41.43%) reported plant parts for the preparation of remedies. Crushing, or pounding was the principal approach of remedy preparation. Oral administration was frequently (66.3%) used route of application. The highest (0.45) ICF was observed for Gastro-intestinal related ailments category. Alysicarpus rugosus and Phytolacca dodecandra scored 100% of FL for Cough and Gonorrhea, respectively. In PR, Carica papaya was ranked first to treat typhoid. The tested socio-demographic features including age, occupation and educational level significantly (P< 0.05) affected the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants possessed by the study population. Analysis of multiple regression also suggested these factors are determinants of the ethnomedicinal knowledge of the people of the study district.

Conclusion. From this study, we conclude that, besides allopathic medication the indigenous people of Oda-Bultum district depend on traditional medicine of plant origin. Therefore, plants of the district and associated local medicinal knowledge should be given due attention for conservation and further pharmacological investigation.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Ethnobotanical indices, Indigenous knowledge, Meddicinal plants, Oda-Bultum