Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plant and Traditional Knowledge Used
Bekele Kindie1, Solomon Mengistu2
1Bekele Kindie, Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, Harar Biodiversity Centre, Harar, Ethiopia.
2Solomon Mengistu, Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, Harar Biodiversity Centre, Harar, Ethiopia.
Manuscript received on 03 February 2023 | Revised Manuscript received on 08 March 2023 | Manuscript Accepted on 15 June 2023 | Manuscript published on 30 June 2023 | PP: 33-39 | Volume-3 Issue-4, June 2023 | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijapsr.B4009023223 | DOI: 10.54105/ijapsr.B4009.03040623
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© The Authors. Published by Lattice Science Publication (LSP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: As the review conducting ethnobotany deals with the link amongst people, livestock, and the environment with plants and gives details on how people of a particular culture and religious knowledge formulate the use of medicinal plants. Indigenous knowledge is the accumulation of procedural knowledge, cultural practices, and traditional knowledge that has developed over many years. The term “ethnobotany” was first used orally by John Hershberger in 1895. Medicinal Plants have been used as a vital source of prevention and healing for human and livestock ailments. Thus, traditional medicine refers to the knowledge and practices of a particular community, which utilise plants to diagnose and treat health problems in livestock and humans. Medicinal plants used in Ethiopia comprise 887 plant species, with 26 species being indigenous. The most effective plant species are identified and recorded for treating various human and animal ailments. Ethnoveterinary medicine is a traditional knowledge and practice to prevent and treat diseases encountered by livestock. In Ethiopia, medicinal plant species are not equally distributed throughout the country. In-situ conservation is a method of conserving and protecting medicinal plant species in their natural habitat. In contrast, Ex-situ conservation is a method of preserving and safeguarding medicinal plant species without their natural habitats. However, medicinal plants are declining rapidly due to ecological shifts, deforestation, urbanisation, loss of forests and woodlands, and agricultural expansion.
Keywords: Ethnobotany, Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Medicinal Plant, Conservation, Ethiopia.
Scope of the Article: Medical Physiology Pharmaceutical Chemistry