Research Article

Systematic Diversity with Quantitative Study of Medicinal Weeds of Tehsil Sarai Naurang, District Lakki Marwat, KP-Pakistan

Tariq Zaman1*, Fawad Khan2, Sajjad Ahmad2*, Alia Mehsud2, Atta Ur Rahman3, Muskaan Zaman2 and Sumaira Noor2

1Department of Botany, University of Science and Technology Bannu, Pakistan; 2Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan; 3Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Pakistan,

Received | March 01, 2024; Accepted | March 28, 2024; Published | March 31, 2024

*Correspondence | Sajjad Ahmad, Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan; Email: Tariqzaman659@gmail.com; Sajjadahmad22@uop.edu.pk

Citation | Zaman, T., F. Khan, S. Ahmad, A. Mehsud, A.U. Rahman, M. Zaman and S. Noor., 2024. Systematic diversity with quantitative study of medicinal weeds of Tehsil Sarai Naurang, District Lakki Marwat, KP- Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Weed Science Research, 30(1): 25-36.

DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.PJWSR/2024/30.1.25.36

Keywords | Ethnobotany, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Lakki Marwat, Medicinal weeds, Sarai Naurang, Systematic diversity, Quantitatives study

Copyright: 2024 by the authors. Licensee ResearchersLinks Ltd, England, UK.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Introduction

Tehsil Sarai Naurang is locataed in District Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Pakistan, with 32°49’ N latitude and 70°46’ E longitude having 278 meters height from sea level. Sarai Naurang tehsil is located at northern side of district Lakki Marwat. Location of Sarai Naurang is in such a way that in the north side there is district Bannu, in the east district Karak, in the west district North Waziristan and in the south it is separated by tehsil Ghazni Khel. The overall 100% population speaking Pashto language and all are muslims (Hussain et al. 2016).

Different authors in different areas documented and explored the plants natural resources with respect to their medicinal values. The whole plant of weeds is mostly used for medicinal purposes. Weeds can be used for many things, but their presence in food crop cultivation is considered as pests. Ethno-medicine and their traditional knowledge is a good illustration of poor communities living in the remote areas, fighting even incurable diseases through the traditional methods and even for their livestock through these traditional herbal medicines (Raut et al. 2012). Medicinal plants constitute the base of health care systems in many societies. Globally, about 85% of the traditional medicines used for primary health care derived from plants (Farnsworth, 1988). Some weeds are called, “beneficial plants or herbs” as they are edible, use for food or herbal medicine. Other advantage of such beneficial herbs may be the keeping away of some insects’ pests of crops (Ediriweera, 2007). Weeds are also used as medicines; however, there have been no reports of the use of wild plants as medicines in this region (Des et al. 2018). Weeds are still used as traditional medicinal plants and have the potential to be used as medicines (Rizki et al. 2019). Many herbaceous plants can be used as food, medicines and also used in religious festivals (Mesfin et al. 2013). Medicinal weeds not only contain nutritional potential which are vital for human health but it can be used as defense against infectious diseases. This study aims to investigate the weeds used indigenously by the local inhabitants for treatment of different diseases. The medicinal weed Imperata cylindrica L. is used for Tonic, cut and wounds, urodynia, hypertension, and febrifuge in Hafizabad district, Punjab-Pakistan (Umair et al., 2017). The overall plant of Oxalis corniculata L. and leaves of Euphorbia hirta L. are used as traditional medicinal source. The important medicinal weeds Avena fatua L. Solanum nigrum L., Malva neglecta Wall. Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds. Rumex dentatus L. have high potential against throat infection, heart burn, diarrhea, laxative and abdominal pain (Islam et al. 2006).

Materials and Methods

Geographical information was obtained from the Department of Geography, University of Peshawar. Map of the study area, note book, pencil, plant presser, newspaper, polythene bags, knife, compass and digital camera were used during research work. Plants were collected, pressed in newspapers with the help of plant presser. During field visits, interviews were taken from people of different age groups (30-45 years; 46-55 years; 56-70 years) through semi structured questionnaire to record the indigenous knowledge and ethnobotanical information about the plants. The artifact method (ex-situ sampling) and inventory method (in-situ sampling) were used for data authenticity (Thomas and Shengji, 2003). The collected weed species were dried, pressed and identified with help of available literature and various volumes of Flora of Pakistan (Ali and Nasir, 1989-1991; Ali and Qaiser, 1993-2021). The voucher specimens were numbered and deposited in Herbarium of Department of Botany, University of Peshawar.

The current research study included three quantitative indices: Family important value (FIV), Relative frequency citation (RFC) and Use Value (UV).

Family important value (FIV): It indicated the imporatant of plant family by informants.

N: All the informants participating in the in survey FC: the number of informers, indicating the family. (Shah et al., 2020).

Relative frequency citation (RFC): The relative value of plant species identified by informants was assessed using the relative frequency of citations (RFC) (Shaheen et al. 2017).

N is total number of informants participated in the survey FC is the number of informants mentioning the usage of the species.

Used Value (UV): The use value (UV) was determined using the method provided by (Rokaya et al. 2010) in order to assess the significance of each specific plant species.

UV = ∑Ui/N

N is the sum of informants, Ui is the number of uses mentioned by each information for a given species

Results

The present research area has very high medicinal weeds diversity. The research work was conducted during 2018-19 in Tehsil Sarai Naurang explore the medicinal diversity of weeds flora. The total of 42 weed species belonging to 20 families was investigated from research area (Table 1) The dominant famimilies with respect to species richness were Asteraceae and Poaceae with 6 species (14.28%) each, followed by Brassicaceae and Papilionaceae with 4 species (9.52%), Apiaceae and Solanaceae with 3 species (7.14%), Amaranthaceae and Polygonaceae having 2 species (4.76%), while remaining families have 1 specie (2.38%) each (Table 3; Fig. 2).

 

Table 1: Ethno-medicinal description of weedy medicinal plants of Tehsil Sarai Naurang, District Lakki Marwat.

S.#	Family	Species name	Local name	Habit	Part used	Ethno-medicinal uses
1	Apiaceae	Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam.	Lewanai gajara	Herb	Seeds	Used for wound, as diuretic
		Anethum graveolens L.	Sowey	Herb	Seeds, leaves	Seeds used for wound as antiseptic, used as a tonic
		Torilis leptophylla (L.) reichenb. f.	Jungli dhanrhia	Herb	Leaves, stem	Used for increase in animal milk production
2	Amaranthaceae	Amaranthus viridis (L.) Medik	Ranjaka	Herb	Leaves, shoot	Reduced diabetes rate and cholesterol level, used as pain killer and diuretic
		Achyranthes aspera L.	Duzaro Washkai	Herb	Whole Plant	Laxative, diuretic, cough, asthma and toothache
3	Apocynaceae	Nerium oleander L.	Surgulai	Shrub	Leaves, flowers, roots	Used for high blood pressure, digestive system and itching
4	Asclepiadaceae	Calotropis procera (Willd)R.Br.	Spalmaka	Shrub	Leaves, stem	latex used in asthma, cough, stomach burn and dysentery
5	Astercaeae	Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieb	Kunjal	Herb	Leaves, seeds	Leaves used for milk production in cattle, seeds used for urinary swelling
		Erigeron bonariensis L.	Aspee ghash	Shrub	Leaves, stem, roots	Leaves used for rheumatism and wound healing
		Cirsium arvense (L.) Scope	Bizogee	Herb	Whole plant	Chewed for toothache
		Sonchus asper (L.) Hill	Thareza	Herb	Leaves, roots, latex	Used to cure warts and inflammation
		Sonchus oleraceus (L.) Hill	Catasaree	Herb	Leaves, roots, latex	Used for bronchial infection, digestive disturbance and tonic
		Taraxacum officinale Weber	Zerh gulai	Herb	Whole plant	Laxative, diuretic, constipation
6	Asphodelaceae	Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.	Pazakai	Herb	Roots, leaves	Used for hair loss, antidandruff
7	Brassicaceae	Eruca sativa Mill.	Jamao	Herb	Leaves, seeds	Used for skin diseases, blood purification, kidney disorder, hairless and diuretic
		Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.	Salaad	Herb	Leaves, seeds	Leaves used for digestion, stomach relief and blood purification, seeds oil used for cooking
		Malcolmia Africana (L.) R.Br.	Khatoal	Herb	Leaves, seeds	Seeds oil used for bone pain; leaves used for abdominal relief
		Coronopus didymus (L.) sm.	Gand butai	Herb	Leaves, shoots	Reducing blood pressure
8	Chenopodiaceae	Chenopodium murale L.	Tor Bathu	Herb	Leaves, stem	Used as diuretic, tonic for liver, digestive, laxative, peptic ulcer and dyspepsia
9	Convolvulaceae	Convolvulus arvensis L.	Perkhatun	Herb	Whole plant	Treat skin ulcer, wounds, swellings, abdominal pain, also used for muscular weakness
10	Euphorbiaceae	Euphorbia helioscopia L.	Parparai	Herb	Whole plant	Root is anthelmintic, cathartic, seeds mixed with paper mint or honey used against cholera
11	Fumariaceae	Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley	Spanda	Herb	Leaves, stem, seeds	Used as a exorcise and for stomach pain
12	Lamiaceae	Mentha longifolia L.	Velanai	Herb	Leaves, stem	Used for digestive, abdominal pain, cough, cold and asthma
13	Malvaceae	Malva neglecta Wall.	Pochkai	Herb	Whole plant	Highly medicinal, nutritive and digestive
14	Oxalidaceae	Oxalis corniculata L.	Malkhoza	Herb	Seeds	Seeds used for backache and joint pain
15	Papilionaceae	Astragalus scorpiurus Bunge	Kasterai	Herb	Leaves	Very highly medicinal (Ethnoveternary)
		Melilotus indica (L.) All.	Shinghzai	Herb	Whole plant	Used for stomach and heart burn
		Medicago polymorpha L.	Kundey	Herb	Leaves, stem	Aphrodisiac
		Vicia sativa L.	Jangli mattar	Herb	Whole plant	Fodder, fruit are used in pickle, leaves used for digestive purpose
16	Polygonaceae	Emex spinosus (L.) Campd	Perkhatun	Herb	Leaves, stem	Used for worms killing in cattle, highly medicinal
		Rumex dentatus L.	Turukai	Herb	Whole plant	Stomach and abdominal relief
17	Plantaginaceae	Plantago lanceolata L.	Speghol	Herb	Seeds, leaves	Used for abdominal pain and dhirrea
18	Poaceae	Cynodon dectylon (L.) Pers	Drab	Herb	Whole plant	Used to cure fresh wounds, chronic dhirrea, rheumatism and diuretic
		Avena fatua L.	Kiranrha	Herb	Whole plant	Used as diuretic, anti-inflammatory and wound healing
		Avena sativa L.	Jaudar	Herb	Leaves, Seeds	Leaves are used for skin diseases, tonic and antispasmodic
		Imperata cylindrica L.	Sermaghza	Herb	Whole plant	Used as diuretic, tonic, wound healing, nose bleeding and digestive disorders
		Cymbopogon jwarancusa (Jones) Schult.	Sargarai	Herb	Whole Plant	Used for cough, cold, fever, stomach burn and vomiting
		Rostraria cristata (L.) Tzvelev.	Washkai	Herb	Whole Plant	Used for animal abdominal pain, increase milk production
19	Salvadoraceae	Salvadora oleoides Decne.	Plaman	Shrub	Whole plant	Used for mouth diseases and cleanliness
20	Solanaceae	Physalis divaricata D. Don	Sqand	Herb	Whole plant	Seeds used for high fever, roots used for animal, dhirrea and abdominal pain
		Solanum nigrum L.	Mamanrha	Herb	Whole plant	Used for rheumatism, skin diseases, cough and laxative
		Solanum surattense L.	Maraghoon	Herb	Whole plant	Seeds and fruit cover used for abdominal pain, fruit used for digestion and roots for dhirrea

 

Table 2: Phytogeography of weedy medicinal plants of Tehsil Sarai Naurang, District Lakki Marwat.

S.#	Family	Spp no.	Species name	Flowering & fruiting phenology	Collection site	Distribution/Location
						Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Pakistan
1	Apiaceae	1	Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam.	Apr-May	Nawab Kaly (Lakki Marwat)	Swat, Dir, Peshawar, Charsada, Sawabi, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat	Murree, Zhob, Ziarat, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore
		2	Anethum graveolens L.	Apr-May	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, Mardan, Charsada, Dir (L), Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat	Karachi, Islamabad, D. I Khan, Mianwali, Jhelum
		3	Torilis leptophylla (L.) reichenb.f.	Apr-May	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Hazara, Peshawar, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, D. I Khan, Bajaur, Dir,	Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Murre
2	Amaranthaceae	4	Amaranthus viridis (L.) Medik	June-July	Kot Kashmir, Sparli kalai, (Lakki Marwat)	Charsadda, Swabi, Swat, Peshawar, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, D. I Khan, Karak, Chitral, Malakand, Bannu	Chiniot, Sailkot,
		5	Achyranthes aspera L.	Feb-Apr	Nawab Kaly, Kot Kashmir, Gandi, (Lakki Marwat)	Charsada, Bajaur, Dir, Swat	Kamber (Sindh), Nara
3	Apocynaceae	6	Nerium oleander L.	Mar-Apr	Kot Kashmir, Bahawal Klai (Lakki Marwat)	Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Malakand	Khuzdar, Kalat, Poonch,
4	Asclepiadaceae	7	Calotropis procera (Willd)R.Br.	Throughout Year	Kot Kashmir, Azad Kalay (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, Charsada, Sawabi, Mardan, Bajaur, Dir, Malakand, Kohat, D.I. Khan	Rawalpandi, Chakwal, Attock, Murre, Abbottabad
5	Asteraceae	8	Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieb	May-June	Chandu Khel, Jangi khan klai, passani, Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat	Malakand, Dir, Swat, Buner, Charasadda, Swabi, Peshawar, Kohat, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D. I Khan	Islamabad, Mainwale
		9	Cirsium arvense (L.) Scope	Apr-May	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Charsada, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Waziristan	Bhimbar Kashmir, Kasur, Peshawar
		10	Erigeron bonariensis L.	Mar-May	Fields along the sides of river tochi (Kot Kashmir) Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Charsada, Chitral Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Kurram	Potohar, Kashmir, Mandi Bahaudin
		11	Sonchus asper (L.) Hill	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir, Jangi Khan klai, Bahawal klai (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Charsada, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Waziristan, Kaghan	Kasur, Islamabad,
		12	Sonchus oleraceus (L.) Hill	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir, Jangi Khan klai, Bahawal klai (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Charsada, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Waziristan	Chang manga, Rawalpindi, Bahawalnagar
		13	Taraxacum officinale Weber	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Mardan, Mansehra	Poonch valley, Kashmir,
6	Asphodelaceae	14	Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.	Nov-Apr	Fields along the sides of river tochi (Kot Kashmir) Lakki Marwat)	D. I Khan, Bannu, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Nowshera, Peshawar.	Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock
7	Brassicaceae	15	Eruca sativa Mill.	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Mardan, Sawabi, Lakki marwat, Bannu, karak, Charsada, Lower Dir.	Jhelum, Islamabad, Rawalpindi,
		16	Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Mardan, Sawabi, Lakki marwat, Bannu, karak, Charsada, Lower Dir.	Jhelum, Rawalpindi, South Punjab
		17	Malcolmia africana (L.) R.Br.	Mar-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Mardan, Charsada, Dir, Swat, Nowshera, Malakand, D.I. Khan, Bannu	Rawalpindi, Quetta, Mianwali, Hafizabad
		18	Coronopus didymus (L.) sm.	Mar-June	Machan Khel, Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Charsada, Bajaur, Sawabi, Peshawar,	Mirpur, Sukkar, Lahore, Kasur, Nanka sahib
8	Chenopodiaceae	19	Chenopodium murale L.	Jan-July	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, Tank	Mankial, Quetta, Kasur,
9	Convolvulaceae	20	Convolvulus arvensis L.	Throughout Year	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Chitral, Kaghan, Parachinar, Peshawar, Bajaur,	Quetta, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Mirpur
10	Euphorbiaceae	21	Euphorbia helioscopia L.	Jan-July	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Charsada, Peshawar, Bannu, Kohat,	Muree, Islamabad, Hasan abdal
11	Fumariaceae	22	Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley	Mar-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Swat, Charsada, Peshawar, Bannu, Kohat. North Waziristan	Rawalpindi, Attock Islamabad
12	Lamiaceae	23	Mentha longifolia L.	May-Nov	Kot Kashmir, Gandi, Sparli kalai (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Swat, Charsada, Peshawar, Bannu, Kohat. North Waziristan	Jhelum, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Lahore
13	Malvaceae	24	Malva neglecta Wall.	May-July	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Kohat, Mohmand, Abbottabad,	Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Chakwal
14	Oxalidaceae	25	Oxalis corniculata L.	Mar-Dec	Kot Kashmir, Machan Khel (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Kohat, Mohmand, Abbottabad,	Quetta, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Chakwal
15	Papilionaceae	26	Astragalus scorpiurus Bunge	Mar-Apr	Nawab Kaly, Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Bannu, Peshawar	Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan
		27	Melilotus indica (L.) All.	Mar-Aug	Shah Tora, Kot Kashmir, Bahawal kalai (Lakki Marwat)	Charsada	Baluchistan, Kausar, Lahore
		28	Medicago polymorpha L.	Mar-May	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Malakand, Swat, Nowshera, Buner	Kausar, Sakkur
		29	Vicia sativa L.	Mar-Apr	Kot Kashmir, Passani (Lakki Marwat)	Lakki Marwat, Chitral, Malakand	Kashmir, Baluchistan, Rawalpindi, Jhelum
16	Polygonaceae	30	Emex spinosus (L.) Campd	Mar-May	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Malakand, Nowshera, Swabi, Dir, Charsada, Abbottabad.	Kashmir, Faridabad
		31	Rumex dentatus L.	May-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Abbottabad, D.I. Khan, Galiyat, Sawabi	Kashmir, Kausar
17	Plantaginaceae	32	Plantago lanceolata L.	May-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, Mallam Jaba, Nowshera	Rawalkot, Murree, Sudhan Gali, Baluchistan,
18	Poaceae	33	Cynodon dectylon (L.) Pers	Throughout Year	Kot Kashmir, Gandi (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Nowshera, Swabi, Bannu, Buner	Kashmir, Murre, Baluchistan, Rawalpandi,
		34	Avena fatua L.	Mar-Apr	Wheat fields of Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Peshawar, D.I. Khan, Bannu	Sarghoda, Toba Tek Singh, Bahawalpur
		35	Avena sativa L.	Mar-Apr	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Kohat, Bajaur,	Faisalabad, Sarghoda, Potohar, Mansehra
		36	Imperata cylindrica L.	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bannu, Karak, Nowshera	Bahawalnagar, Bahwalpor, Potohar,
		37	Cymbopogon jwarancusa (Jones) Schult.	June-July	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Pubbi, Nowshera	Baluchistan, Cholistan, Thal, Duki, Potohar,
		38	Rostraria cristata (L.) Tzvelev.	Apr-July	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bannu, Sawabi, Sari Naurang, Mohmand	Balochistan
19	Salvadoraceae	39	Salvadora oleoides Decne.	Mar-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Karak, North Waziristan, D. I. Khan,	Karachi Sindh, Bahawalpur,
20	Solanaceae	40	Physalis divaricata D. Don	Oct-Nov	Azad Kalay	Sawabi, Dir, Sawabi, Malakand	Sibi, Karachi,
		41	Solanum nigrum L.	Apr-June	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Abbottabad	Mianwali, Sibi, Kashmir, Islamabad, Muzafarabad, Hafizabad
		42	Solanum surattense L.	Throughout Year	Kot Kashmir (Lakki Marwat)	Bajaur, Peshawar, Swat, Bannu	Potohar, Cholistan, Mianwali, Hafizabad

 

 

Based on plant parts used, leaves were the topmost part used of 21 species (50%), followed by whole plant 18 species (42.85%), seeds of 9 species (21.42%), stem of 8 species (19.08%), root of 5 species (11.90%), latex, shoots of 2 species (4.76%) and flowers of 1 specie (Table 4; Fig. 4).

Indigestion were solved by highest numbers of weeds with 12 species (58.57%), followed by intestinal problems with 8 species (19.04%), abdominal pain with 7 species (16.66%), skin diseases with 5 species (11.90%), while kidney, muscular, respiratory, fever and diabetes were treated by 4, 3, 2 and 1 specie each respectively (Table 5; Fig 5).

 

Table 3: Numbers and percentage major families of weedy medicinal plants.

S.No	Family	No. Species	Percentage
1	Asteraceae	6	14.28
2	Poaceae	6	14.28
3	Brassicaceae	4	9.52
4	Papilionaceae	4	9.52
5	Apiaceae	3	7.14
6	Solanaceae	3	7.14
7	Amaranthaceae	2	4.76
8	Polygonaceae	2	4.76

 

Table 4: Summaries of weedy medicinal plants of Tehsil Sarai Naurang.

	S. No	Families/Habits/Part Used	Numbers	Percentage
A.	1	Families	20
	2	Herbs	38	90.4
	3	Shrubs	4	9.5
B	1	Leaves	21	50
	2	Whole plant	18	42.85
	3	Seeds	9	21.42
	4	Stem	8	19.04
	5	Roots	5	11.90
	6	Latex	2	4.76
	7	Shoots	2	4.76
	8	Flowers	1	2.38

 

The demographics of the respondents

146 participants in all were interviewed regarding the local flora in the study area. Among them, male were 138 and female were eight. People from different age groups shared their own knowledge about the plants and the region (Table 7).

 

Table 5: Numbers and percentage of diseases treated.

S.No	Disease treated	Numbers	Percentage
1	Digestive problems	12	58.57
2	Intestinal problems	8	19.04
3	Abdominal pain	7	16.66
4	Skin problems	5	11.90
5	Kidney problems	4	9.52
6	Muscular pain	4	9.52
7	Respiratory problems	3	7.14
8	Fever	2	4.76
9	Diabetes	1	2.38

 

Table 6: Quantitative indices of weedy medicinal plants of Tehsil Sarai Naurang, District Lakki Marwat.

Family/ Species Name	Part used	Ethno-medicinal uses	FC	RFC	UV	FIV
Apiaceae						32.9
Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam.	Seeds	Used for wound, as diuretic	10	0.07	0.7
Anethum graveolens L.	Seeds, leaves	Seeds used for wound as antiseptic, used as a tonic	14	0.10	0.79
Torilis leptophylla (L.) reichenb. f.	Leaves, stem	Used for increase in animal milk production	24	0.16	0.71
Amaranthaceae						29.4
Amaranthus viridis (L.)Medik	Leaves, shoot	Reduced diabetes rate and cholesterol level, used as pain killer and diuretic	29	0.20	0.83
Achyranthes aspera L.	Whole plant	Laxative, diuretic, cough, asthma and toothache	14	0.10	0.71
Apocynaceae						11.0
Nerium oleander L.	Leaves, flowers, roots	Used for high blood pressure, digestive system and itching	16	0.11	0.69
Asclepiadaceae						21.9
Calotropis procera (Willd)R.Br.	Leaves, stem	latex used in asthma, cough, stomach burn and dysentery	32	0.22	0.84
Astercaeae						69.9
Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieb	Leaves, seeds	Leaves used for milk production in cattle, seeds used for urinary swelling	21	0.14	0.67
Erigeron bonariensis L.	Leaves, stem, roots	Leaves used for rheumatism and wound healing	14	0.10	0.64
Cirsium arvense (L.) Scope	Whole plant	Chewed for toothache	11	0.08	0.64
Sonchus asper (L.) Hill	Leaves, roots, latex	Used to cure warts and inflammation	19	0.13	0.89
Sonchus oleraceus (L.) Hill	Leaves, roots, latex	Used for bronchial infection, digestive disturbance and tonic	18	0.12	0.72
Taraxacum officinale Weber	Whole plant	Laxative, diuretic, constipation	19	0.13	0.84
Asphodelaceae						5.5
Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.	Roots, leaves	Used for hair loss, antidandruff	8	0.05	0.75
Brassicaceae						50.7
Eruca sativa Mill.	Leaves, seeds	Used for skin diseases, blood purification, kidney disorder, hairless and diuretic	16	0.11	0.75
Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.	Leaves, seeds	Leaves used for digestion, stomach relief and blood purification, seeds oil used for cooking	19	0.13	0.74
Malcolmia Africana (L.) R.Br.	Leaves, seeds	Seeds oil used for bone pain; leaves used for abdominal relief	18	0.12	0.67
Coronopus didymus (L.) sm.	Leaves, shoots	Reducing blood pressure	21	0.14	0.90
Chenopodiaceae						15.1
Chenopodium murale L.	Leaves, stem	Used as diuretic, tonic for liver, digestive, laxative, peptic ulcer and dyspepsia	25	0.17	0.88
Convolvulaceae						18.5
Convolvulus arvensis L.	Whole plant	Treat skin ulcer, wounds, swellings, abdominal pain, also used for muscular weakness	27	0.18	0.85
Euphorbiaceae						21.2
Euphorbia helioscopia L.	Whole plant	Root is anthelmintic, cathartic, seeds mixed with paper mint or honey used against cholera	31	0.21	0.81
Fumariaceae						14.4
Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley	Leaves, stem, seeds	Used as a exorcise and for stomach pain	21	0.14	0.86
Lamiaceae						19.2
Mentha longifolia L.	Leaves, stem	Used for digestive, abdominal pain, cough, cold and asthma	28	0.19	0.93
Malvaceae						18.5
Malva neglecta Wall.	Whole plant	Highly medicinal, nutritive and digestive	27	0.18	0.85
Oxalidaceae						16.4
Oxalis corniculata L.	Seeds	Seeds used for backache and joint pain	24	0.16	0.88
Papilionaceae						39.7
Astragalus scorpiurus Bunge	Leaves	Very highly medicinal (Ethnoveternary)	17	0.12	0.76
Melilotus indica (L.) All.	Whole plant	Used for stomach and heart burn	12	0.08	0.75
Medicago polymorpha L.	Leaves, stem	Aphrodisiac	14	0.10	0.5
Vicia sativa L.	Whole plant	Fodder, fruit are used in pickle, leaves used for digestive purpose	15	0.10	0.73
Polygonaceae						25.3
Emex spinosus (L.) Campd	Leaves, stem	Used for worms killing in cattle, highly medicinal	11	0.08	0.82
Rumex dentatus L.	Whole plant	Stomach and abdominal relief	26	0.18	0.81
Plantaginaceae						13.7
Plantago lanceolata L.	Seeds, leaves	Used for abdominal pain and dhirrea	20	0.14	0.85
Poaceae						74.7
Cynodon dectylon (L.) Pers	Whole plant	Used to cure fresh wounds, chronic dhirrea, rheumatism and diuretic	29	0.20	0.83
Avena fatua L.	Whole plant	Used as diuretic, anti-inflammatory and wound healing	17	0.12	0.82
Avena sativa L.	Leaves, Seeds	Leaves are used for skin diseases, tonic and antispasmodic	19	0.13	0.63
Imperata cylindrica L.	Whole plant	Used as diuretic, tonic, wound healing, nose bleeding and digestive disorders	12	0.08	0.75
Cymbopogon jwarancusa (Jones) Schult.	Whole	Used for cough, cold, fever, stomach burn and vomiting	18	0.12	0.61
Rostraria cristata (L.) Tzvelev.	Whole plant	Used for animal abdominal pain, increase milk production	14	0.10	0.57
Salvadoraceae						21.2
Salvadora oleoides Decne.	Whole plant	Used for mouth diseases and cleanliness	15	0.10	0.6
Physalis divaricata D. Don	Whole plant	Seeds used for high fever, roots used for animal, dhirrea and abdominal pain	16	0.11	0.69
Solanaceae						35.6
Solanum nigrum L.	Whole plant	Used for rheumatism, skin diseases, cough and laxative	26	0.18	0.88
Solanum surattense L.	Whole plant	Seeds and fruit cover used for abdominal pain, fruit used for digestion and roots for dhirrea	26	0.18	0.85

 

 

 

 

Quantitative indices

Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency Citation (RFC) and Family Importance Value (FIV) were among the parameters used to statistically evaluate indigenous knowledge and ascertain the informants’ quantitative protocol regarding the use of native plants.

 

Table 7: Demographic table of informants.

Factor	Category	No.
Gender	Male	138
	Female	8
Age	<35	9
	25-35	22
	35-45	35
	45-65	62
	>60	18
Occupation	Employees	27
	Farmer	53
	Labors	17
	Herbal Practition	49

 

Used Value (UV)

In the current study the UV value ranged from 0.5 to 0.93. Medicago polymorpha is the specie with Lowest UV (0.5) value. The species with high Used Value were Mentha longifolia 0.93, Coronopus didymus 0.90, Sonchus asper 0.89, Chenopodium murale 0.88, Solanum nigrum 0.88, Oxalis corniculata 0.88 and Fumaria indica 0.86.

Relative Frequency Citation (RFC)

In the present study the RFC value ranged from 0.5 to 0.22. Asphodelus tenuifolius has the lowest RFC Value (0.5). The species with high RFC were Calotropis procera 0.22, Euphorbia helioscopia 0.21, Cynodon dectylon 0.20, Amaranthus viridis 0.20 and Mentha longifolia 0.19.

Family Important Value (FIV)

In the current study FIV value ranged from 5.5 to 74.7. Asphodelaceae has the family with the lowest FIV value (5.5). The Families with high FIV were Poaceae 74.7, Astercaeae 69.9, Brassicaceae 50.7, Papilionaceae 39.7 and Solanaceae 35.6.

Discussions

The weeds divers’ profile is reported from wide range of Pakistan (Jakhar et al. 2005). The research area has been largely overlooked, and there has been inadequate documentation of the local communities’ knowledge about plants and their uses. A review of the literature reveals that there are no research studies available on research area. The current result about dominat family in line with Ahmad and Dastagir (2023); Elfrida et al. (2021); Hosseini et al. (2021); Mechaala et al. (2022). Our results are also in line with (Abat et al. 2017) in which they treated the rheumatism and kidney disorders by some common medicinal weeds. Similar result obtained by (Rizki et al. 2019) in which they utilize Euphorbia hirta (L.) and Mimosa pudica (L.) for respiratory disorder Asthma. According to their proportional importance, plant species with more references typically have a greater UV than those with less mentions (Katiri et al., 2017). A lower Use Value indicates a lack of knowledge about the particular plant species among the informants (Ashfaq et al., 2019). In a particular area, it sheds light on the importance of locally recognised plant species. Assists in evaluating the relative significance of several plant species in the surrounding flora (Malik et al., 2019). Plants with high RFC values are well-known and well-liked by the locals in the vicinity. The plants with low RFC values are not particularly well-known or preferred, among the locals living in the area (Ahmad et al., 2017). By evaluating the relative frequency of citations, the utility of the plant is ascertained (Cordero et al., 2022). The plant family’s FIV value is determined by how many species are present and how those species are used locally (Chaachouay et al., 2019).

Author’s Contribution

Tariq Zaman designed and carried out the research. Both Tariq Zaman and Fawad Khan were collected the data and did fieldwork. Atta Ur Rahman provided logistical support, while Alia Mehsud performed the data analysis. Sajjad Ahmad wrote the manuscript. Muskaan Zaman and Sumaira Noor conducted the literature review necessary for writing the manuscript.

Novelty Statement

Previously, there is no research work done on weeds medicinal in this research area tehsil Sarai Naurang, district Lakki Marwat, Pakistan. Additionally, a novel approach was employed by applying quantitative indices to analyze the collected data, providing new insights into the medicinal potential of these weeds.

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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