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Traditional medicine; Indigenous knowledge; Medicinal plant; Traditional healers

Introduction

Ethnobotany is the study of the relationships between human populations and plants, addressing the ideas conceptualized by a given society regarding plant life [1]. Ethnobotanists attempt to and preserve traditional botanical knowledge related to the various uses of local Flora [2].

Formal documentation of indigenous plant utilizes began with the campaign of European investigates, looking for 'Green gold', to arrive possessed by indigenous individuals [3]. Such campaign were ice breakers to experience critical plant utilize learning, trailed by the resulting exchange of valuable species and their related utilize information to various nations [4].

The principal objective of all ethnobotanical examines includes documenting, analyzing and disseminating information on the connection amongst individuals and plants [5]. Ethnobotanical examination investigates not just how a particular gathering of individuals uses plants additionally how that gathering sees them, how it deciphers these recognitions, how these discernments impact the exercises of individuals from that society, and how these exercises impact the encompassing vegetation and the biological system on which the general public depends [6].

Lose of knowledge is caused when communities emigrate to towns or to other regions with a different flora and can also be lost by life style changes due to industrialization, rapid loss of natural habitats, drastic alteration of the local ecology [7] even though Ethiopia is endowed with abundant medicinal plant resources and traditional medicinal practices [8]. Most of the knowledge acquired by the local people has been passed on to them by a word of mouth from one generation to the other.Such orally preserved information is liable to loss if left undocumented [9]. Therefore this study aimed to identify and document plant species that have medicinal value for human and livestock in Huleteju Enesie District.

Methods

Description of the study area

Hullet Ejju Enese District (HEEW) is one of the 21District in East Gojjam Zone and 151 Districts in Amhara National Regional State. Relative location of the District is 370 km away from Addis Ababa, 120 km from Bahir Dar the regional capital city and 202 km from Debre Markos (Zonal city of East Gojjam). Hullet Ejju Enese District is bounded in the North by South Gonder Zone, in the South by Sedie District, in the east by Goncha District, in the South West by Bibugn (Hullet Ejju Enessie District administrative office, 2018). Geographically, the area is located at10050'0"- 110 10'0"N latitude and 37040' 0"- 370 50'0"E longitude with an average altitude of 2500 m.a.s.l (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Map of study area in East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, and Hulet Ejju Enaessie District.

Data collection techniques

Selections of study sites: Reconnaissance survey of the study area was conducted from November 10-20 in 2018. During this time information related to topography, vegetation distribution, soil type, boarder of the district, traditional healers were observed and data related to the above mentioned features were also collected. Six kebele were selected from 29 kebeles located in the district purposively by considering agro ecology, accessibility, herbal utilization and relative vegetation cover.

Sample size determination and Informant selections: The sample size would be determined statistically by using the Kothari (2004) formula as shown below. n= z² xpxQxN/(e²(N-1)+Z²xPxQ),Where n=sample size, Z= value of standard variant at 95.5 confidence level (2.005), P= sample population (0.02), N= total house hold population, Q= 1-P,e= the estimate should be within 2 % of the true value (0.02), n= ((2.005)² x (0.02)x(1-0.02)x(4382))/((0.02)²x (4382-1)+(2.005)²x(0.02) x(1-0.02))=188. The total informants were distributed proportionally to the selected kebele (sub district). After proportional allocation, each participant was selected systematically from each kebele until the number is reached.

Semi-structured interviews: Semi-structured interview was administered based on the checklist, prepared. The questions were prepared in English and translated to Amharic language (local language of the study area).

Field observation: Field observations were applied on the study sites with the help of local people. During field observation important points like conservation action of medicinal plants, cultivation practice of medicinal plants, soil types and vegetation of an area were observed.

Group discussion: The discussion was conducted at two study kebeles selected by lottery system from six kebeles with 5 individuals (one traditional healer and four nontraditional healers).The participants were discussed about traditional medicinal system of the peoples, its conservation systems and how people transfer medicinal plant knowledge.

Market survey: Market survey was conducted on two kebeles of the markets to distinguish type of medicinal plants available in the markets. During the study the names of medicinal plants, preparation, rout of administration and dosages were recorded and were interviewed about medicinal value of the plants.

Voucher specimens: Plant specimens were collected from both habitats i.e., from home gardens and wild habitats Necessary information need for specimen identification like common name and voucher specimen were recorded during the plant species collection in the field. The collected plants were identified by using different volume of Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Data analysis techniques

The data would mainly analyzed and summarized by descriptive statistics, preference ranking, paired comparison, direct matrix ranking as described in Martin [5], Cotton [3], Alexiades [10], fidelity level [11] and Informant consensus factor [12].

Results

Medicinal plants

Medicinal Plant recorded, their Sources and growth habit: A total of 95 medicinal plants distributed to different genera (85) and family (44) were collected from the study area. Of this, 71(74.73%) plant species were collected from wild habitat and the rest 24 (25.26%) medicinal plant species were collected from homgarden. Fabaceae was the most dominant family that contains 13 species under 11 genera followed by Asteraceae with 7 species and 6 genera, followed by Lamiaceae five species with four genera and Euphorbiaceae and Solanaceae four species with four genera. Regarding the plant habit, herbs were the most common and stood first with 37 species (38.94%), followed by shrubs 32 species (33.68%), trees 19 species (20%) and climbers 7species (7.36%) (Table 1).

Table 1:List of traditional medicinal plants used to treat human and livestock health problems with parts used, ailment type, route of administration, preparation, application and dosage (Key to abbreviations: Hb- habits, S shrub, T- tree, H- herb, Cl – climber, Pp-plant parts used, R –root, L-leaf, Sb –stem bark, Fl –flower, Fr –fruit, Sd –seed, Rh–rhizome, Bu – bulb, Lat – latex,Uf- used for,Hu–Human,Ca–cattle,Chi–chickens,Li–livestock,Ra–route of administration, O –oral, Dm –dermal, Ne-Neck, Na –nasal, Ey– eye,V- vaginal, Cp – condition of preparation, F- fresh, D- dry).

Medicinal plant part used for preparation of medicine: The study on ethnomedicinal plants in the study area revealed that the plant parts used substantially to treat ailments are leaves 42 (43.75%) followed by roots 12 (12.5%) (Table 2).

Table 2: Proportion of plant parts used for preparation of medicines

Method of preparation: Participants reported that remedy preparations vary based on the type of disease treated and the actual sites of ailments. The principal methods of plant parts remedy preparation forms were reported to be through crushing, which accounts for 18 (24%), followed by crushing, powdering and mixing 12 (16%), boiling 11 (14.66%),Crushing and squeezing 8(10.66%) (Table 3).

Table 3: Ways of preparations of only human medicinal plants.

Route of administration and measurements utilized: The most favored route of administration is through oral 51(53.68%) followed by dermal 20 (21.05 %) and others presented in (Table 4). Dosages were estimated using cups (TASSA or TIWA), Glasses, bottle (BIRCHIKO) to measure and administered liquids, spoon (MANKIA) for powders, numbers or in some cases handful for seed and fruits, and (‘ATIK’) or small figure for roots.

Table 4: Route of administration.

Solvents or additives: The practitioners used frequently water and Honey largely as additives along with the plant extract. The rest is presented (Table 5).

Table 5: Solvents and additives used during medicinal preparation.

Diversity of medicinal plants used to treat human diseases only

Seventy five (75) different medicinal plants were reported as medicine to treat human diseases only. These plants belong to 69 genera and 37 families. Family, Fabaceae contained the highest (eleven) medicinal plant species followed by Asteraceae and Lamiaceae (five each) Euphorbiaceae (four) plant species. Others were presented in the table below (Table 1).

Sources of medicinal plants: From the medicinal plants used for human ailments, 55 species were collected from the wild vegetation and 20 species from homegardens. These indicated that the local people obtained higher medicinal plant species from wild vegetation than homegardens (Table 1).

Habits: The habit of the collected medicinal plants reported for human diseases were herbs 28 species (37.33%), shrubs 25 species (33.33%), trees 17 species (22.66%) and climbers 5 species (6.66%) (Table 1).

Parts used: The study participants reported different parts of the plants for medicine. The most frequently utilized plant part was leaves 31 (41.33%) followed by seeds 13(17.33%), roots 8(10.66%), fruits 5(6.66%), stem bark 4(5.33%) (Table 6).

Table 6: Plant parts used for human ailment treatment.

Method of preparation

Participants reported that remedy preparations vary based on the type of disease treated and the actual sites of ailments. The principal methods of plant parts remedy preparation forms were reported to be through crushing, which accounts for 18 (24%), followed by crushing, powdering and mixing 12 (16%), boiling 11 (14.66%),Crushing and squeezing 8(10.66%) (Table 7).

Table 7: Ways of preparations of only human medicinal plants.

Routes of administration: There are various routes of administration of traditional medicinal plants reported by the local community. The major routes of administration in the study area are oral, dermal and nasal. In the study area oral administration is the dominant route with 45 (60%) of the cases followed by dermal 15 (20%) and others presented in (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Route of administration of medicinal plant used to treat human disease.

Medicinal plants used to treat livestock health problems

From the collected medicinal plant species, 11 medicinal plant species are used for livestock health problems. These plants are grouped in 11 genera and 9 families. Family Asteraceae and Solanaceae comprise two species each, and the other seven families comprise one species each (Table 8).

Table 8: Number of taxa and families used in the treatment of only livestock ailments.

Habits: The habits of medicinal plants that are used for ethnoveterinary health problems are herbs (7 species), shrub (3 species) and trees (1 species).

Plant parts: The plant parts used for livestock health treatment in the area are stem bark 2 (25%), root 2 (25%), latex 1(12.5%), seed 1(12.55%), leaf 1(12.5%), rhizome 1(12.5%). Therefore, stem bark and root are the most harvested plant part for remedy preparation to treat livestock ailments.

Method of medicinal plant preparations to treat livestock diseases: The local people use different forms of remedy preparations and applications to treat livestock diseases. Crushed 3(27.27%), squeezed 1(9.09%), Crushed and squeezed 1(9.09%), crushing powdering and mixing 3(27.27%), powdering 2(18.18%).

Rout of administration livestock ailments: Rout of administration of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants involves oral 6(54.54%), nasal and oral 3(27.27%), dermal 1(9.09%) and eye 1(9.09%).

Major livestock diseases and plant species: A total of 9 livestock ailments were identified and 11 Plant species are used for the treatment of common diseases affecting livestock health in the study area. Leech and Sudden sickness which are treated by 2(18.18%) species, Bloating, eye disease, Diarea, Anthrax, Wajima, Wound and Dysentry are treated by 1(9.09%) species each (Table 9).

Table 9: Frequent livestock diseases and number of plant species used.

Medicinal plant species used to treat both livestock and human ailments

A total of 9 medicinal plants were reported to treat both human and livestock in the study area. These medicinal plants are belonging to 9 families and 9 genera (Table 10). Eight of them were collected from the wild vegetation and 1 species was collected from home garden.

Table 10: Number of taxa and plant families used to treatment of both livestock and humans disease.

Habits: The habits of medicinal plants collected for both the treatment of human and livestock ailments are herbs 2 species, shrubs 4 species and trees 1 species and climbers 2species.

Plant parts: The plant parts used for both human and livestock treatment in the area were leaves 4(44.44%), root 2(22.22%), fruit 1(11.11%), seed 1(11.11%), Leaf and root 1(11.11%). Like that of human medicine leaves are the most harvested plant part of remedy preparation for both livestock and human ailments.

Method of preparation: The local community use different forms of remedy preparations and applications to treat human and livestock diseases. The common forms of preparations are crushing 3 (33.33%), squeezing 2(22.22%), Crushing and soaked 1(11.11%), Crushing, powdering, mixing 1(11.11) and latex 1(11.11%).

Routes of administration for both humans and livestock ailments: Based on the nature of the ailment the remedies were applied through different routes. Oral route is the major route of administration 4(77.77%) species followed by dermal preparations 2(44.44%) species, nasal 2(22.22%), nasal and oral preparations 1(11.11%) species.

Marketable medicinal plants of the study area

The results obtained from two local markets in (Keranio and Konter town) showed that most of the medicinal plants are not widely traded for medicinal purposes, but mostly for other different uses. The local people prefer either collecting these medicinal plants from the available areas (vegetations) in the district to prepare the medicines or they prefer to go directly to the local healers to get treatments instead of buying the medicinal plants from the market. However, more of the medicinal plants are widely traded and used for many additional purposes other than their medicinal uses (Table 11).

Table 11: Some of the cultivated and wild grown medicinal plants widely traded in the market for different uses other than medicinal values.

Ranking of most important medicinal plants

Preference ranking: When there are different species prescribed for the same health problem, people show preference of one over the other. Preference ranking of eight medicinal plants that were reported for treating wound was conducted after selecting twelve (12) key informants. The informants were asked to compare the given medicinal plants based on their efficacy and participants were asked to give the highest number (8) for the medicinal plant which they thought most of use in treating wound and the lowest number (1) for the least effective plant in treating wound. Ficus carica scored (75) ranked first indicating that it is the most effective in treating wound followed by Rhus vulgaris and the least effective was Buddleja polystachy (Table 12).

Table 12: Preference ranking of medicinal plants used for treating wounded (R1-12) Key: R= Respondents.

Direct matrix ranking: Average score for direct matrix ranking of five medicinal plants with use diversity (Use values given from 0 to 5:5=Excellent, 4=Very good, 3=Good, 2=Less, 1=Least and 0=No use). Direct matrix ranking was performed to assess the relative importance each of the plant. The result of the direct matrix ranking showed that Eucalyptus globules stood first in being the most multipurpose medicinal plant species followed by Cordia africana, Rosa abyssinica, Acacia abyssinica, and Croton macrostachyus respectively (Table 13).

Table 13: Average score for direct matrix ranking of traditional medicinal plants (TMP) with use diversity (R1-12).

Paired comparison: A paired comparison was made to determine the most preferred medicinal plants among the five species used to treat evil eye illness in the study area. The responses of Tewelve (12) key informants showed that Ruta chalepensis the preferred medicinal plant followed by Sida schimperiana (Table 14).

Table 14: Paired comparisons of five medicinal plant species used to treat evil eye illness (R1-12).

Informant consensus factor (ICF)

The diseases of the study area have been grouped into different categories based on the site of incidence of the disease, condition of the disease as well as treatment resemblance of the disease to the local people. Informant consensus factor was calculated on the identified disease categories. It is calculated as: ICF=nur–ns / (nur –1), Therefore, the highest ICF value was obtained from diseases related to sudden sicknes (dingetegna himem) and Evil eye(0.73) and the least ICF was associated with Birth control, Sterility (Mehaninet), Retaind placenta, Shotely and Sexual retardation (0.16) (Table 15).

Table 15: ICF for the given diseases category.

Evil eye and Sudden sickness (Dingetegn himem) -This related disease had the highest ICF value (0.73) with 7 species reported by 24 use citations. Plant species used in the treatment of such diseases included Ruta chalepensis, Carissa spinarum, Ocimum lamiifolium, Ricinus communis, and Zehneria scabra were listed.

Fidelity level

Values of frequently reported disease in study area Kalanchoe petitiana A.Rich for (Wound), Schinus molle L.for (Tonsilities) were that scored the highest Fidelity Level (FL) values (100%) and Cordia africana Lam.(Dirhea) were scored the least Fidelity Level values (66.66) (Table 16).