Ethnobotanical Uses of Plants for Covid-19 and other Diseases in District Panjgoor, Balochistan

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in District Panjgur, Balochistan, to document medicinal plants used by locals, including remedies for COVID-19. This is the first quantitative ethnobotanical study in the region. A total of 113 informants (81 women, 32 men, including 6 healers) aged 25–70 were interviewed through semi-structured questionnaires. The study recorded 72 medicinal plant species from 37 families, used to treat 62 different ailments, grouped into 14 categories. The most common treatments were for gastrointestinal issues (30 species) and respiratory disorders (15 species). Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were the most represented families, each with 7 species. Leaves (36%) were the most frequently used plant part, and decoction (34%) was the most common preparation method. The plant Dodonaea viscosa had the highest use value (0.5), while Trichodesma africanum had the highest relative frequency citation (0.42). Rhazya stricta had the highest use report (UR7), and urogenital disorders had the highest informant consensus factor (ICF 0.6). Five plants had 100% fidelity level: Calotropis procera, Citrullus colocynthis, Plantago ovata, Punica granatum, and Trichodesma africanum. This study highlights the rich medicinal plant knowledge in Panjgur and the need to document and preserve this valuable tradition, as it may be lost in the future. Further research is necessary to explore the full extent of traditional knowledge in the region.