An Ethnobotanical Study Of Traditional Use Of Medicinal Plants And Their Conservation Status In Mecha Wereda West Gojjam Zone Of Amhara Region Ethiopia

An ethnobotanical study on the medicinal plants was conducted in Mecha Weredarnwhich is found in West Gojjam Zone of Amhara National Regional State. It is located about 535rnkm northwest of Addis Ababa. The objective of the study was to conduct an ethnobotanicalrninvestigation in order to compile and document the use and conservation status of traditionalrnmedicinal plants in the area. The study was carried out from November 23, 2010 to May 1, 2011rnto obtain valuable information from 16 selected kebeles of the study area. In each sample kebelernfive informants that made up of a total of 80 informants were selected and interviewed. Keyrninformants were selected by purposive random sampling whereas the other informants werernselected randomly from the local people of the study area. The ethnobotanical data wererngathered through interviewing local communities including local ‘Merigeta’, ‘Debtera’ religiousrnleaders, ‘Balezar’, students and kebele administrators. Primary data were collected using guidedrnfield walk, group discussion, semi-structured interview and participatory observation in the field.rnThe inhabitants of the study area used medicinal plants not only for medicinal purpose but alsornfood, shelter, forage, construction and other cultural uses. In the study, a total of 107 medicinalrnplants belonging to 96 genera and 52 families were recorded and used to treat both human andrnlivestock ailments. The largest diversity of species recorded belonged to four families includingrnthe Asteraceae (11.2%), Solanaceae (7.47%), Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (4.67%). Shrubby habitsrnwere the major growth form (41.1%) while herbaceous, tree and climbing habits accounted forrn36.5%, 15.9% and 6.5% respectively. The study showed that the most frequently used plant partsrnfor the preparation of traditional medicine were leaves (29.8%) followed by roots (22.4%) andrnfruits (11.2%). These medicinal plant parts were processed in various ways of which the majorrnones included squeezing (24.9%), powdering (16.6%) and crushing and soaking (infusion)rn(14.5%). The most common route of administration was oral (55.4%) followed by dermalrn(26.9%). The status of traditional medicinal plants encountered rarely (12.1%), occasionallyrn(38.4%) and common (49.5%). Among these, 6 (5.7%) of medicinal plant species out of 16rnspecies collected in the homegardens were wild cultivated primarily for the purpose of medicinalrnuses. The main threats to medicinal plants in the study area were agricultural expansion,rnfirewood, construction, grazing and drought. Therefore, it is recommended that cultivation ofrnmedicinal plants should be motivated in homegardens.rnKeywords: conservation, ethnobotany, IK, Mecha Wereda, medicinal plants

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