Ethnomedicinal survey of plants used in home remedies by the local community of the unexplored village Dudday, District Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Ethnomedicinal survey at village Dudday, District Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan was conducted during 2024 to document the important species of plants and related information that are used by the local community to cure several diseases. This site has never been explored before in terms of vegetation composition and structure. Indigenous knowledge concerning the medicinal practice was gathered through structured questionnaires during personal interviews made through the field trips. Plants were systematically arranged based on family name, vernacular name, plant part used, and ethnomedicinal home remedies and uses. For botanical nomenclature and classification of plants, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group-IV was used as a reference. All plant specimens collected, identified, preserved and mounted during survey were preserved at the Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Pakistan for further use. A total of 48 plant species were identified through taxonomic description and information shared by the local people through ethnomedicinal knowledge. Foeniculum vulgare and Sesamum indicum had higher number of respondents. Ficus religiosa had the highest Use Value (0.55). Relative Frequency Consensus (0.506) was noted for Sesamum indicum. Most of the wild plants showed highest Use Value than those of cultivated plants. Most common diseases noted in this study were of digestive and skin. The highest Informant Consensus Factor (0.987) was recorded for dental problems, while the highest fidelity level (20%) was recorded for skin issues. It was concluded that most of the people living in that village still depend on plants to cure various diseases through folk knowledge. This folk knowledge can be used for further scientific studies to develop medicines at commercial scale.