Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat human and livestock diseases in Minjarna Shenkora Dstrict, Amhara Regional state, North Shewa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Plants have been used for medicinal purpose more than a century by most of the population in Ethiopia to treat human and livestock ailments. This study is aimed to fulfill the existing knowledge gap by identifying and documenting the indigenous medicinal plants that are used to treat human and livestock ailments in Minjarna Shenkora District. Totally, 282 informants participated in this study. Data was collected through administrating semi-structured interview, observation and focus group discussions. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics methods such as percentage and frequency. Overall 72 plant species were recorded consisting 66 genera and 41 families to treat 39 different human and livestock ailments. From these (68.1%) plant species were used only for human disease treatment, (11.1%) plant species were used for only livestock disease treatment and the remaining (20.8%) plants were used for treating both human and livestock ailments treatment. Stomach ache and common cold were the major human ailments in the study area while Rabies was major livestock ailments. The Lamiaceae family, containing 6 species (8.33%), was the dominant family in the other hand Nigella sativa was ranked first on preference to treat stomachache. While Eucalyptus camaldulensis ranked first in its multi-usage. The highest informant consensus value was obtained for reproductive organ disease which was a major disease (0.92). Most medicinal plants were herbs (47.2%) and the dominant habitats were wild (58.3%). The best-harvested plant part was leaf and the preferred route of application was oral (62.1%). The common method of preparation was crushing (43%) and the major application method was drinking (40.2%). Deforestation of plants for agricultural expansion (46%) was the major causes of decreasing in abundance of medicinal plants. In conclusion, medicinal plants are a vital part of health care system for both human and livestock ailments and it also has multi-usage in addition to its medical purpose in the study area. Therefore, training, encouraging and supporting the local people on how to conserve, manage and transfer indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants is crucial for the next generation.