ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN SORO DISTRICT, HADIYA ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHOPIA

Abstract

The indigenous knowledge of the utilization of plants as a source of medicine is important to conserve useful plants and preserve indigenous knowledge for the next generation. Therefore, an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plant species was conducted to identify and document traditional medicinal plants in Soro District, Hadiya Zone, and southern Ethiopia. A total of 120 informants (age ≥30 years) were interviewed to collect information on medicinal plant use from six sampled kebeles. Of these, 12 key informants were selected purposively from the information gathered from the local people. The rest were selected randomly. Ethnobotanical data was gathered using semi-structured interviews, group discussions, and guided field walks with key informants for field observations. Direct matrix ranking, preference ranking, Informant consensus factor, and fidelity level were calculated. In this study, it was reported that 75 plant species belonging to 70 genera and 40 families were commonly used to treat various human and livestock ailments. Out of these, 31 were obtained from the wild, 18 were collected from home gardens, 16 were from agricultural fields, and 10 were from the road side. From the total medicinal plants species, 29 species were herbs, followed by 25 species of trees, and 21 species of shrubs. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (31.67%), followed by roots (20.83%), and plants were used mostly in fresh form for remedy preparation. The most widely used method of preparation was crushing (18.33%) and pounding (16.66%). The common route of medicine administration was oral (70%), followed by dermal (20 %) oral and dermal (5.38%), and nasal (4.17%). Informants determined dosage based on age, physical appearance, and the strength of diseases. The main threatening factors reported were firewood, charcoal production, construction, fencing materials, human settlement, agricultural expansion, and overharvesting. Documenting the threating plants and related local knowledge can be used as a source for developing management methods for conservation and sustainable use of traditional medicinal plants in the area