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INDIGENOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY LOCAL WOMEN IN SOUTHERN HIMALAYAN REGIONS OF PAKISTAN

RIZWANA ALEEM QURESHI^1*, MUHAMMAD ASAD GHUFRAN, SYED ANEEL GILANI, ZAHEER YOUSAF, GHULAM ABBAS² AND ANIQA BATOOL³

Abstract: The present work is based on the results of research conducted on traditional uses of some important plants by the local women in southern Himalayan Mountains, Pakistan. The locals especially  women of the area have been using the medicinal plants for many day to day uses for various ailments and are dependent on the plants in their surroundings for food, health, medication and various cultural purposes.  A total of 28 important plant species belonging to 25 families were recorded which were used medicinally and various other purposes by the local women. About 130 informants were interviewed in this regard. Mostly plants like Viburnum foetens Decne., Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. Berberis lycium Royle, Geranium wallichianum D. Don ex Sweet and Skimmia laureola (DC.) Sieb. & Zucc. ex Walp. are used by the local women for medication, health care and other purposes. Geranium wallichianum D. Don ex Sweet is most commonly used as tonic by women especially for body strength and other internal body disorders. Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb., is used as anticancerous plant and for internal wounds. Skimmia laureola (DC.) Sieb. & Zucc. ex Walp. is another widely used plant for respiratory disorders in children by the local women. People have strong faith in herbal medication by ethnomedicinal plants and women are leading men in applying the recipe for medication by these plants.

¹Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

²Well Department, OGDC Head Office Islamabad

³Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan