College of Natural and Computational Sciences Department of Biology Ethnobotanical Study of `Medicinal Plants Used by Indigenous People of Munesa District

Abstract

Ethno botany is the scientific study of the way that people used plants to treat different human and livestock diseases. It includes all studies that concern with the mutual relationship between plants and people.The main objective of this study was to assess the traditional medicinal plants used by the indigenous people in selected kebeles of Munesa district. Traditional medicine is used throughout the world as it is dependent on locally available plants, which are easily accessible and capitalizes on traditional wisdom repository of knowledge simple to use and affordabily. Structured questionnaire, interview, observation, and document reviews were employed to collect both primary and secondary data. The data was analyzed and presented in qualitative and quantitative methods in that Paired comparison, fidelity level, preference ranking, informant consensus factor and direct matrix ranking were used during data analysis Medicinal healers of the study area gave treatment for different human and livestock diseases like: conjure, breast disease, snake bite, liver diseases, diabetic, cold sore, throat infections, sexually inactive male, allergy, epilepsy, antiseptics, diarrhea, bloat, endo and ecto parasite, Helminthiasis, Anthrax and others. The traditional healers prepare the traditional medicine by mechanisms like: crushing/grinding, squeezing, boiling, roasting. They used different route of administration such as: oral, tying, fitted to the target infected site by traditionally standardized dose. Leaf/pod and root/rhizome were highly used by more than half of the respondents (27%, 26% respectively) for the preparation of traditional medicine. The findings of this study showed that, many of effective medicinal plants in the study area were under risk of threatening or they endangered and any concerned body can give attention for conservation of these threatened medicinal plant species.