A Cross-cultural ethnobotanical comparison of plants use among Saraiki, Pukhtoon and Punjabi Communities in Southwest Pakistan

Abstract

The present project is confined to study the cross cultural ethnobotanical utilization of medicinal plants among three ethnic communities Saraiki, Pukhtoon, and Punjabi in Southwest Pakistan. This is the first ever independent investigation in this region to document the traditional knowledge of plant usage among selected communities. Ethnobotanical information was documented through semi structured and open-ended interviews using questionnaire and group discussions. In total of 329 informants of varied age groups, education level, gender, and experience were interviewed. The data was quantitatively analyzed using various indices i,e Relative frequency of citation (RFC), Informant consensus factor (ICF), Disease consensus index (DCI), Cultural significance index (CSI), Use value (UV), Relative importance (RI), Fidelity level (FL%), Jaccard index (JI), Cultural importance index (CI), and Sorensen's similarity index (QS). About 229 medicinal plant species belonging to 83 families were reported for ethnomedicinal uses. In total of eight (8) categories regarding the use of medicinal plants were 56 plant species were reported for the gastropathic disorder, 73 species for wound healing, 66 species for Respiratory tract disorder, 68 species for traditional food and herbal drinks, 72 species for Insect repellent plants, 60 species for ethnoveterinary uses, 40 species for diabetes and 74 species as edible wild fruits discussed in this project. In addition to this, Ferula oopoda species was selected for detailed phytochemical analysis. This study reports that South West Pakistan has rich traditional knowledge of medicinal plant uses. Traditional knowledge is prevailing in the region, more common in the elders than the younger generation. Most of the plant species used for multiple purposes as several plant species are used for more than one diseases. The study encompasses the need to conserve traditional knowledge and carry out a future pharmacological investigation to appraise important mineral, nutrients, antioxidant potentials and toxic effect of these species. This study will serve as baseline data for future drug discovery development in particular and primary healthcare for locals.