Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants from Leepa valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Aim of study: Ethnomedicinal studies were conducted first time in the Leepa Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan to document indigenous medicinal knowledge of most common plant species. Pakistan is diverse country by possessing a wide range of climatic and geological condition; this country also has a mammoth diversity of flora. Material and methods: Rapid appraisal approach, semi-structured interviewees, personal observations and field work guided by local informants having sufficient knowledge of indigenous medicinal plants were employed to acquire ethnomedicinal information. Results: In this study 61 medicinal plants belonging to 40 families have been reported through 705 informants (267 females, 393 males and 45 herbal specialists) from 17 sites of Leepa valley. The main sources of herbal medicines were wild herbs (64%) followed by trees (10%), wild shrubs (8%), cultivated herbs (3%), wild and cultivated herbs (3%), wild grasses (3%), climbing wild herbs (2%), prostate wild herbs (2%), spiny shrubs (2%), fungi (2%) and ferns (1%). The most repeatedly used plant parts were leaves (34%) followed by root (16%), seed (10%), shoot (9%), fruit (8%), flower (8%), bark (6%), whole plant (4%) and barriers, tubers, nuts, oil, milky latex (1%). Preparations of medicinal plants were administrated through oral and topical routs. Conclusion: Leepa Valley is wealthy in its indigenous medicinal plants species and the allied traditional knowledge. Indigenous medicines play important role in the local healthcare system. Most of the local community prefers to use the traditional herbal preparation for against ailments. This is the first record of indigenous knowledge from this area and there is dare need for more studies to authenticate traditional plants used in herbal remedies of study area. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.