IDENTIFICATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE ETHNOBOTANICAL INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE ON PRECIOUS FLORA OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA (PAKISTAN) FOR THE COMING GENERATION

Abstract

Introduction: Ethnobotany is defined as the study of the relationship that exists between the local plants and local people and Indigenous knowledge is to study the plants used by the primitive and aboriginal people. Objective: To find and make record of indigenous plants that are used by communities living in Malakand. Methodology: 55 indigenous plants materials were collected, preserved, labeled, deposited in the herbarium of University of Malakand and identified with the help of flora of Pakistan. Purposive sampling was applied in the field investigation, where traditional therapists and elders helped to pin point medicinal plant practitioners and emphasis was laid on both women and men. Results: Out of all these plants, only a single species is used as sedative and in treatment of typhoid and premature ejaculation, three are used as a nerve tonic and antiseptic, four are used a food/vegetable, seven are used in treatment of digestive disorders. Therapeutic uses of the compiled plants provide basic information that can aid scientists to conduct additional research dedicated to conservation of species and pharmacological studies of species with the greatest significance. Conclusion: The elders have more information about the indigenous plants as compared to the young. Further research on these valuable natural products should be conducted and the valuable knowledge should be preserved and shared with the new generation.