Browsing by Author "Tamene, Sintayehu."

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Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plant knowledge among three ethnic groups in peri‐urban areas of south‐central Ethiopia
(Department of Urban and Rural Development, 2023) Tamene, Sintayehu.; Negash, Mesele.; Makonda, Fortunatus Bulabo; Karltun-Linley, Chiwona; Kibret, Kefyalew Sahle.
Background Documenting traditional knowledge on plant use among ethnic groups has enabled researchers to obtain a better understanding of how indigenous flora is seen and used in daily life. Their therapeutic applications will also encourage future conservation and phytochemical research, potentially leading to the development of novel drugs. However, past ethnobotanical studies conducted in Ethiopia mainly focused on rural areas, and limited cover‐ age to document the ethnobotanical knowledge at the rural‒urban interface. Therefore, this study was conducted to document and analyze traditional ethnobotanical knowledge on medicinal plants among three selected ethnic groups in peri-urban areas of south-central Ethiopia. In addition, we attempted to investigate the range of cultural similarity and disparity between the studied ethnic groups in relation to traditional medicinal plants and diseases treated. Methods Data were collected using semistructured questionnaires and in-depth interviews of 189 key informants, floristic species inventories, and field observations. Several cultural importance indices and Rahman’s similarity indices were applied to analyze the relevance of medicinal plants and cultural similarity among the ethnic groups. Results A total of 189 therapeutic plants representing 159 genera and 69 families were identified and documented across the three studied ethnic groups. Of these, the Sidama, Gedeo, and Oromo ethnic groups reported 28, 34, and 38%, respectively. Most medicinal plants were represented by herbs (36%), followed by shrubs (31%), trees (27%), and herbaceous climbers (7%). Rahman’s similarity index (RSI) revealed considerable ethnobotanical knowl‐ edge variation among ethnic groups. Oromo and Sidama showed the highest disparity (63.8%), followed by Gedeo and Oromo (63.2%). Of the total collected therapeutic plants, 78 most important medicinal plants were selected for the cultural importance analysis, which revealed that Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile scored the highest point in the Gedeo and Oromo ethnic groups and Zingiber officinale Roscoe in the Sidama ethnic group. Whereas Cin- namomum verum J.Presl, Psidium guajava L., and Melia azedarach L. are the least. Conclusion The present study revealed the presence of cultural differences in medicinal plant knowledge practices and therapeutic plant use among the studied ethnic groups in rural–urban interface areas of south-central Ethiopia. The diverse healing potential of plants would support future pharmacological investigations, emphasizing the need for adequate documentation of indigenous knowledge and versatile flora to prevent their further loss.
Influence of socio‐demographic factors on medicinal plant knowledge among three selected ethnic groups in south‐central Ethiopia
(Department of Urban and Rural Development, 2024) Tamene, Sintayehu.; Negash, Mesele.; Makonda, Fortunatus Bulabo.; Karltun-Linley, Chiwona.
Background The influence of socio-demographic variables was widely explored to evaluate their impact on indige‐ nous and local ethnobotanical knowledge. However, the studies conducted in Ethiopia mainly focused on rural areas. They were limited to exploring and documenting ethnobotanical knowledge and the associated impacts of socio- demographic variables in rural–urban interface areas among ethnic groups. Hence, this study aimed to document plant-based indigenous and local ethnomedicinal knowledge and the associated impacts of socio-demographic variables among selected three ethnic groups in south-central Ethiopia. Methods Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 189 key informants, floristic species inventories, and field observations. Quantitative approaches were used to evaluate the use values (UV) of the most important medicinal plants, the informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity level (FL), relative popularity level (RPL), and rank-order priority (ROP). Statistical tests were applied to evaluate the influences of socio-demographic fac‐ tors and associations between variables on local ethnobotanical knowledge across ethnic groups in different inform‐ ant categories. Results Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean number of medicinal plants reported among age categories. There was also a positive association between the respondent’s age and plant knowledge acquisition. Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile, Albizia gummifera C.A.Sm., Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Aloe mac- rocarpa Tod., Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch.Bip., Calpurnia aurea (Aiton) Benth, and Allium sativum L. had the highest use values among ethnic groups. The highest informant consensus factor values were recorded for circulatory system disorders (0.68) followed by febrile illness and reproductive organ complications (0.66 each) across the three studied ethnic groups. The highest FL, RPL, and ROP values were noted for Lactuca inermis Forssk., Moringa stenopetala (Baker f.) Cufod., Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, Allium sativum L., Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, Ricinus communis L., Schinus molle L., Antiaris toxicaria (J.F.Gmel.) Lesch., Brucea antidysenterica J.F.Mill., Echinops kebericho Mesfin, Ocimum jamesii Sebald, Afrocarpus falcatus (Thunb.) C.N.Page, Searsia natalensis (Bernh. ex Krauss) F.A.Barkley, and Ricinus communis L. across ethnic groups in the study areas, which showed the conformity of knowledge on spe‐ cies curing potential and their prevalent uses. Conclusion The study revealed that the ethnic groups of Gedeo, Oromo, and Sidama have considerable indigenous and local ethnobotanical knowledge practices. Statistical analysis shown high variation in the acquisition of local eth‐ nobotanical knowledge among age groups, which boosted our understanding of the effects of socio-demographic