Summary

An ethno-medicinal survey was conducted in District Swabi, Pakistan. Data were collected through field assessment as well as from traditional healers and local inhabitants by conducting personal interviews and questionnaires. Information about 63 medicinal plants belonging to 36 families was recorded. Some plants including Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (Apiaceae), Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae), Cuscuta reflexa L. (Cuscutaceae), Fagonia arabica L. (Zygophyllaceae), Lepidium sativum L. (Apiaceae), Mirabilis jalapa L. (Nyctaginaceae), Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae), Tamarix aphylla L. (Tamaricaceae), Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) and Zingiber officinale L. (Zingiberaceae) were found to be of great pharmacological interest for novel compounds and substitute for the antibiotics.

Industrial relevance

Medicinal plants are still widely used for the treatment of different ailments in the area of Swabi, therefore survey of medicinal flora should be carried out to explore and bring up-to-date the catalogue of existing natural plant resources of the area especially in agricultural country like Pakistan. Small scale government processing units of agroforestry should be implemented to reduce the overuse and motivate the cultivation of valuable medicinal plants. Majority of the people use various formulations of medicinal plants for different ailments treatment. The phytochemicals greatly varied in medicinal plants and cause a marvelous effect on human illnesses. The objective of the present study was to document the information of folk medicines, its identification, collection of samples, study of its chemical constituents and uses by the local people of District Swabi, Pakistan.