Harnessing the application of halophytic flora biomass in the management of healthcare of local people in the Salt Range of Punjab

Abstract

The dependence of rural communities on salt-tolerant medicinal plants provides practical evidence of their utilization in healthcare systems in Salt ranges. Ethnomedicinal data were collected and documented by interrogating 138 local people and 13 traditional health practitioners using a visual appraisal approach, semi-structured interviews, rapid rural appraisal methods, and open-ended questionnaires, separately for each species and interviewee, in different localities of the Salt Range. Data was scrutinized quantitatively utilizing multiple quantitative indices, including frequency citation, use value (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF), and relative frequency of citation (RFC). The ethnomedicinal practices of 38 halophytes from 23 families were reported. Herbs (50%) were the leading life form. The findings reported Fabaceae as the dominant family with 5 species and Vachellia nilotica as a highly cited medicinal plant by respondents. Leaf (37%) was the most utilized plant fragment in herbal provisions, with 24 reports. Statistical analysis such as ICF exhibited a high value for the gastrointestinal disease category (0.62). The values of RFC and UV ranged from 0.22 to 0.48 and 0.08 to 0.7, respectively. Phytochemical evaluation indicates the strong pharmacological potential of these studied medicinal plants for drug development. Nageia wallichiana and Vachellia nilotica were threatened species and needed reclamation measures for their conservation. The sustainable utilization of medicinal flora requires proper conservation approaches because this is the primary healthcare source for rural communities in the Salt range. This study recommends sustainable ethnomedicinal utilization of Salt range flora and their conservation for an eco-friendly and green environment.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Medicinal flora; Phytochemistry; Salt range; Use value.

Fig. 1

Field photographs of medicinal plants of Salt range. (1) Achyranthes aspera (2) Amaranthus viridis (3) Spinacia oleracea (4) Suaeda vermiculata (5) Nerium oleander (6) Phoenix sylvestris (7) Calotropis procera (8) Carthamus oxyacantha (9) Strigosella africana (10) Capparis decidua 11. Citrullus colocynthis 12. Ricinus communis.

Fig. 2

Field photographs of medicinal plants of Salt range. 13. Medicago polymorpha 14. Neltuma juliflora 15. Senegalia modesta 16. Vachellia nioltica 17. Eucalyptus camaldulensis 18. Eucalyptus globulus 19. Peganum harmala 20. Arundo donax 21. Cynodon dactylon 22. Ziziphus mauritiana 23. Ziziphus nummularia 24. Verbascum thapsus.

Fig. 3

Field photographs of medicinal plants of Salt range. 25. Solanum incanum 26. Salvadora oleoides 27. Solanum virginianum 28. Withania coagulans 29. Withania somnifera 30. Tribulus terrestris.

Fig. 4

Habitat of medicinal plant species.

Fig. 5

Life forms of medicinal flora of Salt range.

Fig. 6

Proportion (%) of plant portions used by local communities for remedy preparation.

Fig. 7

Mode of administration of medicinal taxa.

Fig. 8

Proportion (%) of mode of consumption of medicinal flora preparation.