Ethnoveterinary Study of Medicinal Plants in a Tribal Society of Sulaiman Range

The aims of the present study were (i) to document ethnoveterinary plants and their formulation techniques in an unexplored region of Pakistan and (ii) to select candidate medicinal plants with high consensus factor and fidelity value for further in vitro investigation. A total of 60 informants were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire. A total of 41 plants belonging to 30 families were used to treat livestock ailments in study area. Mostly leaves (47%) were used in recipes formulation mostly in the form of decoction. Gastrointestinal infections were found more common and majority of the plants were used against cow (31) and buffaloes (24) ailments. Recovery time of majority of the recipes was three to four days. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results have shown a high degree of consensus for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive (0.95 each) ailments. Fidelity level (FL) results showed that Asparagus gracilis ranked first with FL value 93% followed by Rumex hastatus ranked second (91%) and Tinospora cordifolia ranked third (90%). Aged farmers and nomads had more traditional knowledge as compared to younger ones. Plants with high Fic and FL values could be further investigated in vitro for the search of some novel bioactive compounds and young generation should be educated regarding ethnoveterinary practices

Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around Indus River

The objective of present study was to document and preserve ethnomedicinal knowledge use to treat different human ailments by traditional healers of Dera Ismail Khan region, Pakistan. Field work was conducted between February 2012 and January 2013 using semistructured questionnaires. Data was collected from 120 traditional healers through questionnaire survey. Traditional healers in the study area use 70 plant species mostly herbs (57%) for ethnomedicinal and other purposes. The highest FIC values (0.80) were obtained each for gastrointestinal and kidney problems followed by respiratory infections (0.72) and skin infections (0.73). There was a significant correlation (r2=0.950;  p<0.01) between the age and traditional knowledge of respondent. Direct matrix ranking indicated Morus alba and Dalbergia sissoo as highly multipurpose and threatened species in the study area. The results showed high dependency of local inhabitants on medicinal plants in meeting their primary health care needs. Moreover, the traditional knowledge has been restricted to elder people. Protection measures should be taken in order to conserve precious multipurpose species that are facing overexploitation. Medicinal plants treating major ailments in the region may be subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological investigations for the identification of bioactive compounds

Increasing Trend of Silver Nanoparticles as Antibacterial and Anticancer Agent

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesis from plants that already have been reported for medicinal purposes demonstrated better efficacy for curing diseases. Recently, a number of researches have been reported where AgNPs act as promising antibacterial and anticancer agent. Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are a type of environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and biocompatible substance that has gotten a lot of attention in treatment of cancer and inhibition of pathogenic microbes. In this chapter, a comprehensive report on the recent development of AgNPs as nanomedicine synthesized from plant extracts. The role and mechanism of AgNPs as antibacterial and anticancer agent was reported that leads towards development of targeted nannomedicines to treat infectious diseases and world most challenging disease like cancer. Reported literature give imminence importance of AgNPs and demonstrated more potency to treat cancer and bacterial infections

ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED AGAINST COMMON DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS

Background: Ethnomedicinal knowledge is highly significant for persistence of human health care. Different studies shown that medicinal plants are considered as curing agent for digestive disorders in Pakistan. The aim of present review is to explore this ethnomedicinal information all over the Pakistan and to investigate the ecological status of these species in the country. Methodology: Online liter

Ethnogynaecological Assessment of Medicinal Plants in Pashtun’s Tribal Society

The present study was designed to document detailed ethnogynaecological knowledge of selected remote regions of Pashtun’s tribe in northwest Pakistan. Semistructured questionnaires were designed to collect ethnogynaecological and ethnographic data. Total of 51 medicinal plants belonging to 36 families were documented that were used by the women of studied regions for the treatment of 9 types of gynaecological complaints. Majority of the plants (19) were found used against menses followed by 11 plants each for gonorrhea and pregnancy. Bannu region has high number of gynaecological plants (22) followed by Karak (15). Women of the regions mostly used whole plants (33%) and leaves (31%) for various ethnomedicinal preparation of gynae. Fic results showed that all ailments in different areas scored high consensus ranges between 0.6 and 1.00. Majority of the female respondents (44%) were aged between 61 and 70 years, of which most were illiterate. Women in the remote regions of Pakistan have tremendous traditional knowledge in utilizing medicinal plants for their reproductive health. Plants with high Fic values should be cross-checked for their in vitro and in vivo validation. Young girls should be educated on the importance of ethnogynaecological practices to conserve this valuable knowledge

Ethnoveterinary Study of Medicinal Plants in a Tribal Society of Sulaiman Range

The aims of the present study were (i) to document ethnoveterinary plants and their formulation techniques in an unexplored region of Pakistan and (ii) to select candidate medicinal plants with high consensus factor and fidelity value for further in vitro investigation. A total of 60 informants were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire. A total of 41 plants belonging to 30 families were used to treat livestock ailments in study area. Mostly leaves (47%) were used in recipes formulation mostly in the form of decoction. Gastrointestinal infections were found more common and majority of the plants were used against cow (31) and buffaloes (24) ailments. Recovery time of majority of the recipes was three to four days. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results have shown a high degree of consensus for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive (0.95 each) ailments. Fidelity level (FL) results showed that Asparagus gracilis ranked first with FL value 93% followed by Rumex hastatus ranked second (91%) and Tinospora cordifolia ranked third (90%). Aged farmers and nomads had more traditional knowledge as compared to younger ones. Plants with high Fic and FL values could be further investigated in vitro for the search of some novel bioactive compounds and young generation should be educated regarding ethnoveterinary practices

Ethnomedicinal Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Used against Gastrointestinal Complaints

Aim of the present study was to document ethnomedicinal plants used against gastrointestinal complaints in five selected remote regions of Pakistan and to select potential medicinal plants for further in vitro and in vivo investigation. Data on ethnomedicinal plants and ethnographic profile of respondents was documented using semistructured questionnaires. The present study revealed utilization of 52 medicinal plants for the treatment of different gastrointestinal infections in studied regions. Apiaceae was the most dominant family reported to be used for the treatment of these infections (4 plants). Among all the plant parts fruit (24%), whole plants and leaves (23% each) were the most preferred plant parts used by the healers. Dosage of recipe was found to be related with the age of the patient. Highest degree of informant consensus was reported for vomiting, nausea (0.92 each), abdominal pain (0.9), and diarrhea (0.89). Withania coagulans scored highest FL value (86%) followed by Mentha longifolia and Melia azadirachta ranked second with FL value (75% each). Young generation was found to possess little traditional knowledge about utilizing plant recipes against these infections. Plants with high Fic and FL values should be subjected for further phytochemical and pharmacological investigation for scientific validation

Traditional medicines and their in-vitro proof against Staphylococcus aureus in Pakistan

Objective: To gather the fragmented literature on ethnobotany, phytochemistry and in-vitro activities of medicinal plants of Pakistan being used against common infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Methods: A large number of published and unpublished research studies related to the ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and anti-S. aureus activity of medicinal flora of Pakistan published from 1990-2018 were reviewed using online bibliographic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, ResearchGate and libraries. Results: S. aureus can cause many human ailments including endocarditis, staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, septic arthritis, respiratory problems with an estimated infection rate of 25%-35% across the globe. This review comprised of 86 medicinal plants. Data showed that people mostly used leaves (50%) for the preparation of traditional medicines. Correlation analysis on the reviewed data revealed that methanolic extract concentrations of medicinal plants was highly significantly positive correlated (r=0.8; P<0.01) with the S. aureus zone of inhibitions. S. aureus reportedly showed complete resistant to the commonly used antibiotic erythromycin. Isolated compounds like altheahexacosanyl lactone, cinnamaldehyde, niloticane, gobicusin A, asparacosin A, muzanzagenin, isoagatharesinol, friedelin, inophynone and eugenol were active against S. aureus. This study provided in-vitro proof for the flora of Pakistan used against different infections caused by S. aureus. Conclusions: Antibacterial agents from natural sources could be more effective against bacterial pathogens and will be helpful in minimizing the adverse effects of synthetic drugs, and hence provides a base for the pharmaceutical industries