Study of Ethnobotany of medicinal plants in Kachabira District, Kambata Tambaro

Abstract

Medicinal plants make important contributions in the healthcare system of indigenous people as the main source of medicine for the majority of the rural populations. Indigenous people in Ethiopia possess unique knowledge of plants on which they depend for food, medicine and general utility. This close interaction and dependency of humans on plants is studied under the field of ethnobotany. Totally, 355 informants participated in this study, from them 333were household informants and 22 were traditional healers. Data was collected through administrating semi-structured interview, observation and focused group discussions. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered. Quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics methods such as percentage and frequency whereas; qualitative data was analyzed manually through thematic contents. Overall 97plant species were found which catagories in to81 genera and 45 families to treat 61 different human and livestock ailments. From these 55(56.7%) plants species were used only for human treatment, where as11(11.3%) plant species were used for only livestock treatment and the remaining 31(32%) plants were used for treating both human and livestock ailments. Stomach ache and ringworm were the major human ailments in the study area while, anthrax was major livestock ailment. The Lamiaceae family, containing 10 species (10.3%), was the dominant family over other families. In this regard, cordia africanawasfirst based on preference and ranked first in its multi-usage. The highest informant consensus value was obtained forCroton macrostachyus (0.98). Most medicinal plants were herbs (48.5%) and the dominant habitat where medicinal plants collected werehome garden (40.2%) followed by wild (39.2%). The best-harvested plant part was leaf (40.2%) and the preferred route of application was oral (82.5%). The common method of medicinal plant preparation was pounding (50.5%). In conclusion, medicinal plants are a vital part of health care system for both human and livestock ailments and it also has multi-usage beyond its medical purpose inKachabira distirict. Therefore, the local people should be trained, encouraged and supported on how to conserve and manage medicinal plants