title: Indigenous knowledge of folk medicines among tribal minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwestern Pakistan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mapping ethnomedicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge of folk medicines can provide a comprehensive overview of individual herbs employed in health care. Reliance on medicinal plants in remote parts of northern Pakistan is high, especially among women, but no research has investigated specifically which plants are used. This study investigated indigenous knowledge of folk medicines among tribal minorities in selected sites in upper Swat, Buner and Chitral Districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with gender-specific focus groups using questionnaires and standardized data sheets, followed by forest walks in each of the visited areas. General medicinal herb use, preparations, storage, marketing and collection habits for each gender group were ascertained from the questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total 168 women and 390 men were interviewed and provided information on 127 different shared medicinal species. Species use consensus among the informants ranged from 2.3% to 83.3%, with Cynodon dactylon, Avena sativa, Celtis australis, Datura stramonium, Solanum nigrum, Skimmia laureola, Spiraea nervosa, Ziziphus jujuba, Rumex hastatus, Plantago lanceolata, Lathyrus aphaca and Ficus palmata having the highest reported consensus. The survey also revealed that a number of medicinal species were exploited by the community for both marketing and personal use, and many of these species were reported as being rare, vulnerable or even endangered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results revealed that women in all the three districts were important custodians of medicinal plant knowledge, but elder women in general and the women from Buner district in particular had a superior understanding of folk medicine. The forest walks revealed that women׳s traditional medicinal knowledge was based on a more limited diversity of plant species. People in tribal communities have an expressed interest in learning efficient techniques for medicinal plant collection, preparation, storage and cultivation advice, and to learn more about the potential of marketing medicinal herbs and ways to reach local market centers. Education and awareness were considered to be essential for improved health care and successful marketing.
authors: Center for Plant Sciences and Biodiversity, University of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Electronic address: hassan.botany@gmail.com.
authors: Hassan
authors: H
authors: Sher
authors: Department of Geography, College of Arts, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: adosari@ksu.edu.sa.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Aldosari
authors: Center for Plant Sciences and Biodiversity, University of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Electronic address: aali_swat@yahoo.com.
authors: Ahmad
authors: A
authors: Ali
authors: Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: hugo.deboer@naturalis.nl.
authors: Hugo J
authors: HJ
authors: de Boer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000379:methods; D020834:Ethnopharmacology / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D010154:Pakistan; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations
keywords: Biological conservation; Local trade; Medicinal plants; Socio-economic development; Subsistence livelihoods; Women׳s traditional knowledge