# Ethnobotanical Study of Traditional Medicinal Plants Used by the Local People in Mekdela Woreda, South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia

## TL;DR

This study documents traditional medicinal plants used by local people in Ethiopia, highlighting their importance and the risk of losing this knowledge due to modernization.

## Contribution

The study provides a detailed ethnobotanical inventory of 74 medicinal plant species and their uses in Mekdela Woreda.

## Key findings

- 74 plant species were identified for treating 44 different ailments in humans and animals.
- Leaves and roots were the most commonly used plant parts for remedies.
- Oral administration was the most common method of treatment delivery.

## Abstract

Folk medicine has long been the most popular availability and hospitalization option for those who are unable to afford modern medications in the primary healthcare system. But migration, industrialization, and other factors are contributing to the disappearance of indigenous herbal medicine insight. The aim of this study was to point out, register, and investigate the traditional applications of botanical medicines and the traditional ecological knowledge in the Mekdela woreda, South Wollo Zone. By applying the Cochran formula, 384 participants in total (256 men and 129 women) were chosen. And from a total of 32 kebeles, 9 kebeles were chosen using selective sampling, and the chosen group of households was made using a stratifying sampling method followed by random sampling techniques. And, 74 kinds of plants, categorized into 42 genera and 63 families, were gathered from the research area. At the investigation site, these varieties of plants were recommended to treat 44 illnesses (16 in animals and 28 in humans). A total of 54% of plants used for medicinal purposes were common, 23% were medium, and 23% were rare. Allium sativum was discovered to possess the highest informant consensus. The majority plants that were best at powdering, pulverizing, and mixing with water were chosen to make the treatments. Leaves and roots accounted for 49% and 21% of the remedies, respectively. Oral administration is used in 67% of applications and is an extremely frequently employed technique of administration. The locals used cups (sini), glasses (birchiko), spoons (mankia) to determine the dosage of remedies.