Shahzad Hussain, Faizan Ullah, Amin Shah, Ihsan Ullah, Mehmood Shah, Iram Gul, Sarvat Rahim, Irfan Ali Irfan Ali, Noor Ul Uza
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Surghar range is one of Pakistan's backward and less explored areas with numerous wild edible fruit species. Indigenous people lack basic medical facilities and mostly depend upon wild edible fruits for their food requirements and health care. Objectives: The present research work was aimed to document and preserve the valuable pool of indigenous knowledge about the medicinal uses of wild edible fruits of the Surghar range, Pakistan. Methods: Ethnomedicinal information was collected from 55 respondents (aged 40-85 years) belonging to 16 different localities of the Surghar range, Pakistan. Research work was started in July 2021 and completed in January 2023. Compelling semi-structured interviews were conducted with the respondents, and complete data were recorded on questionnaires. Quantitative indices such as fidelity level (FL) and relative frequency of citation (RFC) were used to determine the medicinal significance of wild edible fruits of the Surghar range. Results: This research work provided ethnomedicinal information about 43 wild edible fruits belonging to 16 families. These wild edible fruit species were used to treat 36 human and animal diseases in the Surghar range. Moraceae, with 7 species (16.27%), was recorded as the dominant dicot family. Arecaceae (6.97 %) was the dominant monocot family. The maximum RFC was reported for Berberis lycium (0.763), and the lowest value was calculated for Morus macroura (0.072). The highest FL was documented for Grewia tenax (69.23%), and the lowest was recorded for Bauhinia variegata (8.69%). Conclusion: Recent research work demonstrated that all the wild edible fruit plants had medicinal potential but Berberis lycium, Grewia tenax, Tinospora cordifolia, Salvadora persica, Cordia myxa, and Sideroxylon mascatense were recorded as highly medicinal in the Surghar range. This research work will be useful for the local inhabitants to conserve these medicinal plants. Keywords: Wild edible fruits, Relative frequency of citation, Fidelity level, Moraceae, Surghar range
期刊介绍:
Ethnobotany Research & Applications is an electronic, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary and multi-lingual journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research. Manuscript submission, peer review, and publication are all handled on the Internet. The journal is published by the Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. The journal seeks manuscripts that are novel, integrative and written in ways that are accessible to a wide audience. This includes an array of disciplines (biological and social sciences) concerned particularly with theoretical questions that lead to practical applications. Articles can also be based on the perspectives of cultural practitioners, poets and others with insights into plants, people and applied research. Database papers, Ethnobiological inventories, Photo essays, Methodology reviews, Education studies and Theoretical discussions are also published. The journal publishes original research that is described in indigenous languages. We also encourage papers that make use of the unique opportunities of an E-journal: color illustrations, animated model output, down-loadable models and data sets.