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Aims and scope

• Bridging the Knowledge Gap:  JRTM seeks to create a bridge between the wisdom of traditional medicine practices and the evidence-based approach of modern science. This can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of health and healing.
• Advancing the Field:  The journal aims to propel the field of traditional medicine forward by encouraging rigorous research and development. This can lead to the integration of effective traditional therapies into mainstream healthcare.
• Promoting Global Exchange:  JRTM fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between practitioners, researchers, and healthcare professionals from all over the world. This international exchange can accelerate progress in the field.

Objectives :

• Publishing High-Quality Research:  JRTM prioritises the publication of original research articles, reviews, and clinical trials that are conducted using strong scientific methods. This ensures the credibility and reliability of the information presented.
• Encouraging Innovation:  The journal aims to stimulate innovative research that delves into the mechanisms by which traditional medicine therapies work, their effectiveness, and potential safety concerns. This can lead to the development of new and improved treatments.
• Disseminating Evidence-Based Knowledge:  JRTM strives to make traditional medicine knowledge accessible to a global audience. It's worth checking their website or editorial guidelines to see if they offer specific open access initiatives, such as free online publication or article processing fee waivers for authors from developing countries.This promotes wider adoption and understanding of traditional medicine practices.

Overall, JRTM plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between traditional and modern medicine, fostering scientific research, and promoting the global exchange of knowledge in this field. 

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About the Journal

Bridging tradition and science: journal of research in traditional medicine.

The Journal of Research in Traditional Medicine stands as a leading international platform for advancing the science of traditional medicine (TM). We bridge the gap between age-old practices and modern scientific inquiry, fostering a deeper understanding of the efficacy and mechanisms behind TM interventions. Presently the journal is published as an open access model with biannual issues. 

A Diverse Landscape of TM Research

The Journal welcomes a wide range of research methodologies, encompassing:

• Clinical Research (including interdisciplinary approaches):  We publish rigorous clinical trials evaluating the safety and effectiveness of TM for various health conditions.
• Survey Studies:  We explore patterns, prevalence, and perceptions surrounding the use of TM in diverse populations.
• Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses:  We provide comprehensive syntheses of existing research to inform clinical practice and future research directions.
• Review Articles:  Our in-depth reviews offer critical appraisals of current knowledge within specific areas of TM research.
• Monographs:  We offer focused examinations of specific medicinal plants or traditional practices, including comprehensive data on chemistry, pharmacology, and clinical applications.
• Educational Research:  We explore advancements in pedagogy and curriculum development for effective dissemination and preservation of TM knowledge and practices.
• Pharmacology Research:  We delve into the pharmacological properties and mechanisms of action of natural products used in TM systems.
• Pharmaceutical Standardisation:  We address the critical issue of quality control and standardisation of herbal medicines to ensure safety and efficacy.
• Pharmacognosy Research:  We explore the botanical origin, chemical constituents, and biological activity of plants used in traditional medicine.
• Case Reports/Series:  We document compelling case studies that highlight the potential benefits of TM interventions for individual patients.
• Short Communications:  We facilitate the rapid dissemination of concise, groundbreaking research findings in the field of TM.
• Proceedings and Book Reviews:  We offer summaries of relevant conferences and critical reviews of impactful publications within the field.
• Letters to the Editor:  We encourage a dynamic forum for scholarly discourse and exchange of ideas on TM research.
• Protocol Publications:  We facilitate transparency in research methodology by publishing the protocols of original research works before data collection begins.

The Power of TM Research

TM research plays a pivotal role in:

• Evidence-based Integration:  By establishing the scientific foundation of TM practices, we can ensure their safe and effective integration into mainstream healthcare systems.
• Improved Patient Care:  Expanding the available treatment options with evidence-based TM interventions empowers healthcare professionals to provide more comprehensive and personalised care plans.
• Promoting Public Health:  Understanding the effectiveness of TM allows individuals to make informed choices about their health and well-being.

The Journal fosters a vibrant community of researchers, practitioners, and healthcare professionals dedicated to advancing the science of traditional medicine. We invite you to submit your innovative research, engage in stimulating discussions, and contribute to the ongoing quest to unlock the full potential of traditional healing practices.

Last Updated on 26/6/2024

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• ISSN: 2455-3166 (electronic)

EDITORIAL article

Editorial: a new frontier for traditional medicine research—multi-omics approaches.

• 1 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
• 2 Qingdao Key Laboratory of Research in Marine Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Qingdao Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qingdao, China
• 3 Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Medical Sciences, Kota Bharu, Malaysia

Editorial on the Research Topic A new frontier for traditional medicine research—Multi-omics approaches

Traditional medicine accumulates cultural theories, beliefs, and experiences that are unique to different populations, whether scientifically explicable or not. It is used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness ( Che, et al., 2017 ). However, the lack of scientific exploration, empirical diagnosis, and rigorous therapeutic strategy hinders greater access to better understanding these healthcare services ( Patwardhan and Patwardhan, 2005 ). To address these issues, multi-omics experimental designs analyze pharmacological action and biological mechanisms at the molecular level by integrating multiple omics such as the genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, epigenome, and microbiome, thus shifting the paradigm of “single omic” research ( Menyhárt and Gyorffy, 2021 ). Multi-omics provides a powerful approach to gathering further hereditary information of the organism and illustrating a wide range of biological phenomenon, such as identifying the bioactive components, action targets and biological pathways of various traditional Chinese medicine. This integration of modern scientific insights with the role of traditional Chinese medicine in a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, ( Zhu et al. ).

In this Research Topic, we have collected twelve research papers and review articles focusing on multi-omics research related traditional Chinese medicine to biological mechanisms, and the complex biological processes in traditional therapies.

This Research Topic comprises a variety of article types, including animal experiments (6 papers), clinical research (2 papers), reviews (2 papers), meta-analysis (1 paper), and comparative metabolic profiling and its substituents in traditional Chinese medicine (1 paper). The related Multi-Omics Approaches range from proteomics to metabolomics, intestinal microbiomics, and lipomics. These articles cover diseases such as COVID-19, cardiomyopathy, triple-negative breast cancer, depression, fatty liver related to metabolic dysfunction, coronary heart disease, chronic liver disease, and stroke. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes, such as phlegm stasis and damp heat, as well as research on toxicity and metabolic substances of TCM, are also included. The 108 authors who contributed to these papers are from 43 institutes located in China.

Six contributions in this Research Topic focus on the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on different diseases using a multi-omics research approach. The first two contributions address depression. Qiao et al. evaluated the effects of Tibetan medicine, metacinnabar (β-HgS) combined with imipramine or sertraline (SER) on depression-like symptoms in mice. They revealed that β-HgS promotes the antidepressant effect of SER on depression-like behavior in mice by promoting glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression and neuronal proliferation in key hippocampal subregions. Liang et al. evaluated the antidepressant efficacy of Yang-Xin-Jie-Yu Decoction (YXJYD) in a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression rat model and investigated the underlying mechanisms by using metabolomics and intestinal microbiomics methods. They identified the pathway of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) and propanoate metabolism as the regulated target of YXJYD on host-microbiome interaction. He et al. found that Poria cocos extract can affect metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease via the FXR/PPARα-SREBPs pathway. Wang et al. presented a study revealing that Dandelion extract inhibits triple-negative breast cancer cell proliferation by interfering with glycerophospholipids and unsaturated fatty acids metabolism. Liu et al. revealed that astragaloside IV significantly promotes pharmacological effect of Descurainia sophia seeds on isoproterenol-induced cardiomyopathy in rats by complementarily reversing myosin motor MYH6/7, and further downregulating NPPA and MYL4. Chien et al. presented a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials about the therapeutic effects of herbal-medicine combined therapy for COVID-19.

Three contributions focus on using the multi-omics research approach to explore the biological basis of TCM syndrome. Yang et al. revealed that coronary heart disease with phlegm and blood stasis syndrome is characterized by low levels of FOS, AP-1, CCL2, CXCL8, and JNK1, and elevated levels of PTGS2 and CSF1 by using a strategy that integrated RNA-seq, DIA-based proteomics, and untargeted metabolomics on 90 clinical samples. Pan et al. found distinct common signatures of gut microbiota associated with damp-heat syndrome, a status of disharmony that often occurs when dampness binds with heat evil, in patients with different chronic liver diseases. Liu et al. summarized and highlighted the latest significant progress in the crucial value of applying multi-omics approaches to reveal TCM syndromes of stroke in a new horizon.

Two contributions focus on the toxicity and metabolic substances of TCM. Miao et al. revealed novel insights into the mechanism of hepatotoxicity induced by Tripterygium wilfordii multiglycoside in mice via proteomics analysis and demonstrate that the gut-liver axis may play a vital role in the progression of Tripterygium wilfordii multiglycoside-induced hepatotoxicity. Guo et al. comprehensively profiled the metabolites in wild Chinese Cordyceps species from Naqu (NCs) and Yushu (YCs) and their substituents including artificially cultivated Cordyceps species (CCs) and mycelia, by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based metabolomics analysis. They analyzed quantitatively seventy amino acid-relevant metabolites in four samples for the first time.

The remaining contribution, Zhu et al. presented a review of multi-omics approaches for an in-depth understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of TCM. They evaluated and compared several TCM databases for storing multi-omics data in terms of completeness and reliability.

As a summary, we believe that the papers we have collected contain a wide range of multiple-omics methods which can help us systematically understand the biological basis of TCM syndromes, the mechanisms by which TCM treats diseases, as well as the spectrum-effect relationship of TCM components.

Author contributions

The initial idea of and concept of this Research Topic originated from XF. The discussions among the guest editors lead to the maturation of the ideas for this Research Topic. XF drafted the initial version of this editorial. All authors contributed to the writing process of the editorial and approved the final version.

Acknowledgments

We thank the various authors for submitting their work to this Research Topic and the reviewers who agreed to review individual contributions.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Che, C. T., George, V., Ijinu, T. P., Pushpangadan, P., and Andrae-Marobela, K. (2017). “Traditional medicine,” in Pharmacognosy (Cambridge: Academic Press ).

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Menyhárt, O., and Győrffy, B. (2021). Multi-omics approaches in cancer research with applications in tumor subtyping, prognosis, and diagnosis. Comput. Struct. Biotechnol. J. 19, 949–960. doi:10.1016/j.csbj.2021.01.009

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Patwardhan, B., and Partwardhan, A. (2005). Traditional medicine: Modern approach for affordable global health . Switzerland: World Health Organization .

Google Scholar

Keywords: traditional medicine, multi-omics approaches, TCM syndrome, therapeutic mechanism of TCM, biological processes

Citation: Fu X, Wong KK and Tseng Y (2023) Editorial: A new frontier for traditional medicine research—Multi-omics approaches. Front. Pharmacol. 14:1203097. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1203097

Received: 10 April 2023; Accepted: 26 April 2023; Published: 09 May 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Fu, Wong and Tseng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Xianjun Fu, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Traditional Medicine Research

TMR is dedicated to report the research progress in clinical efficacy, actionmechanism and theoretical research on traditional medicine, including traditional medicine, ethnomedicine, herbal medicine, acupuncture and massage, rehabilitation, diet therapy, yoga, and other integrative medicine around the world.

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About traditional medicine research.

Traditional Medicine Research (TMR) is a peer-reviewed open access journal. It is also the official journal of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association . It has been included in DOAJ , ScienceOpen ,  GoogleScholar and Wanfang Data . Researches of traditional medicine which have definite historical records, ethnic feature, and regional distribution are welcome especially. In order to focus on breakthrough research in a field, TMR insist on publishing special issues around a topic related to traditional medicine.

In addition to the editorial, review, basic research and clinical research, the following columns are also welcome: ethnic and regional medicine, hypothesis of traditional medicine, modernization of traditional medicine, special diagnosis of traditional medicine, special therapy of traditional medicine, ancient formula research, and empirical formula research.  

About TMR Integrative Medicine

TMR Integrative Medicine is the sister journal of Traditional Medicine Research . It pays more attention to the integrative medicine. TMR Integrative Medicine focus on the publication of innovative, scientific medical papers and set up basic research, clinical research, case reports, comment, review, theoretical discussion, and drug research columns. Areas that are relevant to traditional medicine and modern medicine are of interest.  

For further information see below or follow links to TMR and TMR Integrative Medicine .

Open Access Policy

TMR is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

That the author(s) acknowledge that all articles published by Hong Kong Gold Orchid Science and Technology Co., Limited  are selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. Hong Kong Gold Orchid Science and Technology Co., Limited  applies the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license , which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial.

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TMR follows a double blind peer review process, to ensure impartial editorial decision-making. All submissions to TMR are assessed by an editor, who will decide whether they are suitable for peer review. If an editor is on the author list or has any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review.

Submissions felt to be suitable for consideration will be sent for peer review by appropriate independent experts. Editors will make a decision based on the reviewers’ reports and authors are sent these reports along with the editorial decision on their manuscript. Authors should note that even in light of one positive report, concerns raised by another reviewer may fundamentally undermine the study and result in the manuscript being rejected.

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Authors may suggest potential reviewers if they wish; however, whether or not to consider these reviewers is at the editor's discretion. Authors should not suggest recent collaborators or colleagues who work in the same institution as themselves. Authors who wish to suggest peer reviewers can do so in the cover letter and should provide institutional email addresses where possible, or information which will help the editor to verify the identity of the reviewer.

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In 2017, Articles processing charges and submission charges are free. All accepted papers will be published free-of-charge. Moreover, Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Funds will independently decide on adwards which include   Distinguished Contribution Award with $5,000, first prize with $2,000, second prize with $500, and third prize with certificate.

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Clinical research in traditional medicine: priorities and methods

Affiliation.

• 1 Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. [email protected]
• PMID: 17105698
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2006.07.003

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the evaluation of treatments arising from traditional medical systems (TMS). Globalization and popular consumer-and industry-driven market forces contribute to the spread of traditional treatments, techniques and technologies, but do not necessarily ensure their usefulness or safety. The international scientific community is obliged to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these treatments because of their potential impact on global public health. Clinical evaluations of traditional treatments, however, have complex methodological and practical challenges, depending on the goals of the research and the audience for the results (country of origin; or new host countries and new patient populations). To address these challenges, the authors offer the following recommendations to identify and prioritize treatments to study and how to design study protocols. Evaluations of traditional treatments are best addressed first by collaborative, international, pragmatic studies. Protocols for observational, prospective, pragmatic pilot study (randomized and controlled, when feasible) should be designed collaboratively and executed simultaneously in the culture of origin and in new contexts. This, in turn, could determine the acceptability, usefulness and feasibility of larger randomized controlled trials (RCTs). International multicentre RCTs would have the potential benefits of evaluating safety and effectiveness and also assessing the transferability of a traditional treatment across social and cultural contexts.

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• Open access
• Published: 09 January 2018

Traditional uses of medicinal plants practiced by the indigenous communities at Mohmand Agency, FATA, Pakistan

• Muhammad Abdul Aziz 1 ,
• Muhammad Adnan 1 ,
• Amir Hasan Khan 2 ,
• Abdelaaty Abdelaziz Shahat 3 , 4 ,
• Mansour S. Al-Said 3 &
• Riaz Ullah 3  

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine volume  14 , Article number:  2 ( 2018 ) Cite this article

34k Accesses

98 Citations

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Plant-derived products have an imperative biological role against certain pathogenic organisms and were considered to be a major source of modern drugs. Rural people residing in developing countries are relying on traditional herbal medical system due to their strong believe and minimum access to allopathic medicines. Hence, ethnomedicinal knowledge is useful for the maintenance of community’s based approaches under this medical system. Present study was carried out in an unexplored remote tribal area of Pakistan to investigate and document the existing ethnomedicinal knowledge on local flora.

Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires from the community members and local herbalists. Use reports (URs) were counted for each species and analyzed through Linear Regression between the number of URs per family and number of plant species per family.

A total of 64 medicinal plant species were recorded belonging to 60 genera and 41 families. Most frequently used plant families in ethnomedicines were Lamiaceae (8 species) and Asteraceae (7 species). Highest URs were recorded for Caralluma tuberculata N.E. Br. (49 URs) being followed by Thymus serphyllum L. (49 URs), Fagonia cretica L. (47 URs), Plantago lanceolata L. (45 URs), Periploca aphylla Decne. (44 URs), Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (44 URs), and Sideroxylon mascatense (A.DC.) T.D.Penn. (44 URs). New ethnomedicinal uses were reported for Boerhaavia elongata Brandegee and Fumaria officinalis L. with confidential level of URs from the study area. Nineteen groups of health conditions were recorded during the course of study being treated with medicinal plants. Maximum number of 30 plant species was used to treat digestive problems. Most widely practiced mode of drugs’ preparation and administration was powder. Leaves (30% plants) were the most frequently used plant parts in the preparation of ethnomedicinal recipes.

Conclusions

Current study is an important addition to the field of ethnomedicines. The study reports important medicinal plants from an area, which has not been investigated previously. Traditional knowledge is restricted to health practitioners and elder community members. This knowledge is at the verge of extinction because younger generation is not taking interest in its learning and preservation process. Hence, there is a dire need to phytochemically and pharmacologically test the investigated taxa for the validation of traditional knowledge.

Plant resources have remained an integral part of human society throughout history. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that about 80% of the developing world’s population use traditional herbal medicines [ 1 ]. In developing countries, traditional medicines provide a cheap and alternative source for primary health care [ 2 , 3 , 4 ] due to lack of modern health facilities, their effectiveness, cultural priorities, and choices [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. In developed nations, usage of traditional herbal medicines is also a fast growing phenomenon. For instance in China, traditional herbal preparations account for 30–50% of the total drug consumption. While at the same time, in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, and Mali, the first choice for 60% children suffering with high malarial fever is herbal medicines. In Ethiopia, about 80% of the population use traditional medicines due to the cultural acceptability of healers and local pharmacopeias, comparatively low cost of traditional medicines and lack of access to modern drugs [ 8 ]. The documentation of ancestral knowledge in ethnobotanical surveys may cover the existing gap to discover effective drugs [ 9 ].

Pakistan is comprised of various climatic zones with unique biodiversity and consists of 6000 plant species, of which approximately 400–600 species are considered to be medicinally important [ 10 , 11 ]. In the country, several studies have reported the medicinal uses of plant resources [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].The folk knowledge on traditional herbal remedies usually transfer from one generation to another generation through oral way [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. In vertical transfer, chances of elimination of knowledge are going in parallel, which poses a huge threat and need to be addressed for preservation. In the last few decades, a significant trend in scientific and commercial interests has been observed due to the cultural acceptability and economic potency of plant-based herbal products across the country [ 21 , 22 ]. The country has diverse cultures and a variety of languages spoken predominantly in rural and remote areas. People from rural areas have minimum access to healthcare services, which is one of the main reasons for the utilization of traditional herbal medicines in such cultures [ 23 ].

Mohmand Agency is a remote tribal area of Pakistan, which is rich and diversified in important medicinal plants. Modernization and exposure to modern pharmaceuticals have significantly affected the traditional practices in the area. The ethnomedicinal knowledge in the study area is gradually heading towards extinction because the old age community members being the main bearer of this knowledge are passing away and younger generation is not interested to take it. Herbal practitioners in the area have sufficient traditional knowledge, but mostly, they are reluctant to disclose it to other community members. Hence, the current study was planned with the objectives to record the traditional knowledge of study area, preserve it in the form of publish literature, and share it with other communities across the globe.

Ethnographic and socioeconomic background of the study area

Mohmand Agency is a part of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan and established in 1951. The Agency is bordered by Bajaur Agency to the north, Khyber Agency to the south, Malakand and Charsadda districts to the east, Peshawar district to the southeast, and Afghanistan to the west (Fig.  1 ). Mohmand Agency takes its name from the Mohmand tribe living in the area. Total area of the agency is 2296 km 2 with headquarter located at Ghalanai area. Geographically, the area is comprised of rugged mountains with barren slopes and widespread along the banks of Kabul River. Lower Mohmand area is rather fertile whereas Upper area is comparatively less productive. Most of the agricultural land is rain fed with insufficient rainfall. Mohmand tribe is also migrated to the fertile lands of district Charsadda and Mardan due to less rainfall ratio and water for irrigation at their homelands. According to the report published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (2017), the current human population of Mohmand Agency is 466,984. Mohmand is the major tribe in the agency which is further subdivided into Tarakzai, Halimzai, Khwaezai, Baezai Safi, and Utmankhel.

Study area map of Mohmand agency

The socioeconomic condition of indigenous community is heterogeneous and comparatively poor. The income sources were limited in general except from agriculture and some trade/businesses. Mostly, the people are farmers by profession, while others are government servants, and some have their own small-scale businesses, while some people work on daily wages. Some locals are serving in Gulf States and supporting their families through remittances. People keep domestic animals at their homes, which is a sign of better socioeconomic condition of a tribe or family. There are few secondary schools and only three government colleges in the Agency. There are some public health dispensaries facilitating the people to some extent; however, people residing in remote hilly areas have low or no access to the allopathic medicines. Local communities tend to use traditional herbal therapies as compared to modern pharmaceuticals. They have strong cultural beliefs and faiths about the herbal medicines prepared by the traditional healers locally known Hakim (s). Traditional knowledge about the herbal recipe is restricted to these Hakims and other elder community members. The socioeconomic background of the indigenous communities can be uplifted if the cultivation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants is promoted and encouraged in the area.

Informant selection and ethnomedicinal data collection

Field survey for ethnomedicinal data collection was carried out between May and August 2016. Regular field visits were undertaken prior to data collection in order to ensure and acknowledge the support of the indigenous communities. Local informants were identified for interviews in the month of May, while ethnomedicinal data was recorded in the rest of 3 months. Being local occupant of the study area, Mr. Amir Hasan Khan visited various sites along with volunteer team comprised of a pharmacist and plant taxonomist. The team managed several meetings with the local representatives of the community to whom purpose of the study was presented. Data was collected from community members through semi-structured interviews, meetings, and group discussions at various public places following the procedure adopted by Martin [ 24 ]. A total of 81 local key respondents were selected, which include 57 males and 24 females of various age groups through snow ball sampling technique (Table  1 ). The total respondents also comprised of 14 traditional herbal practitioners locally called Hakims . With exception of some elder females, young female community members were not allowed to participate in interviews due to cultural limitations. The selection of respondents was based on their high reputation in ethnomedicinal knowledge. We ensured the validity of the traditional knowledge by maintaining continuous relationships with the local peoples in the course of survey.

All interviews with the local people were conducted in local language “Pashto”. In order to get trust and consent, objectives of the study were shared with survey participants. Most of the data on traditional therapies was taken from the local healers. Post data collection, the survey results were redisplayed to the informants for removing errors and omissions from the data.

Preservation and taxonomical verifications of plant species

Medicinal plants collected during field visits were identified by Dr. Abdul Haq at the Department of Botany, Postgraduate College Khar, Bajaur, Pakistan. The plants were dried under the shade and poisoned with 1% HgCl 2 , pressed and mounted on herbarium sheets. Each herbarium sheet was given a voucher name and number and submitted to the department for future use as a ready reference. Taxonomic problems regarding the correct name and updated systematic position were resolved by using the online database “The Plant List” ( www.theplantlist.org ).

Data analysis

Data recorded during the survey was subjected to regression analysis between the URs and number of species per family by using SPSS (16 Version) [ 25 ].

Results and discussion

Status of the traditional knowledge and role of hakim.

Local communities of Mohmand Agency have their own rural culture and beliefs. Their traditional life style including use of herbal medicines make them closer to the natural resources and distinguish from other cultures across the country. It is a natural phenomenon that each community across the globe has a unique philosophy, belief, attitude, culture, and economic status. These are the basic factors, which are responsible for the variation in practicing traditional medicines [ 26 ]. The pattern of utilization of medicinal plants in a particular community is a part of its cultural traditional knowledge, passing from one generation to another generation representing a heritage. In the past, several studies have reported the uses of medicinal plants in a single culture or one ethnic group while little attention given to their comparative analysis across various communities and cultures [ 27 ]. However, in the last few decades, intercultural importance of medicinal flora has been highlighted among different ethnic groups across the globe [ 19 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. This comparisonal approach is practical and essential for finding cross cultural variations and future research prospects on medicinal plants [ 19 ].

Current study is an important addition towards the preservation of folk ethnomedicinal knowledge on plants and the efficacy of their derived products from an area not been previously explored. In this study, we have observed that educated people were less conversant compared to the ones with little education in using traditional therapies. Moreover, herbal practitioners hold a large part of the ethnomedicinal knowledge while the aged people only possess a small fraction of this knowledge. In the area, traditional knowledge is under the threat of extinction. The erosion of traditional knowledge is mainly due to the slow and gradual introduction of allopathic medicines, current trend towards modernization, and exposure to technological era. Younger generation is least interested in using herbal therapies; rather, they are more tilted towards allopathic medicines. Similar tendency has been found in other studies [ 14 , 33 ]. Therefore, the issue of preserving ethnomedicinal knowledge must be properly addressed; otherwise, the vertical and horizontal transfer rate of this knowledge within and across communities would be reduced and ultimately extinct in the near future. This concern has already been elevated in similar studies [ 34 , 35 ].

Most of the Hakims in the study area were using Unani or Ayurvedic system of traditional medication for the treatment of different diseases. Usually, they belong to the local community and have better understandings about the patients’ background, which also facilitates them in disease treatment process. These local herbalists usually diagnose any disease through patient’s symptoms and assessment of the pulse. The Hakims interviewed during the study were males, of whom very few were qualified professionals. The local people were of the view that consultation process with the local herbalists mainly depends on personal experiences of these practitioners. However, the introduction of modern pharmaceuticals has triggered the tendency to utilize allopathic medicines and brought cultural changes in the society. Hence, the local dependency on traditional medicines has been significantly decreased as also indicated by Adnan et al. [ 36 ].

Quantitative ethnobotany and preparation of herbal therapies

A total of 64 medicinal plant species belong to 60 genera, and 41 families were catalogued in the study area, which were used for the treatment of several types of human’s diseases (Table  2 ). Most of the reported plant species belong to the family Lamiaceae (8 species; URs = 236) followed by Asteraceae (7 species; URs = 118), Apocynaceae (4 species; URs = 141), Brassicaceae (4 species; URs = 92), Malvaceae (3 species; URs = 93), Fabaceae (2 species; URs = 50), Fumariaceae (2 species; URs = 46), Moraceae (2 species; URs = 53), Rhamanaeae (2 species; URs = 79), Umbelliferae (2 species; URs = 72), and Zygophyllaceae (2 species; URs = 86). In our study, a significant correlation ( r  = 86) has been observed between the URs and number of species per plant family (Fig.  2 ). The concept of regression was introduced by Moerman [ 25 ] to examine patterns of medicinal plant use, based on taxonomic affiliation. This method includes the following: (i) linearly regress the number of species in a family against the number of medicinal species in the family for a specific geographic region, (ii) interpret least squares line as a measure of average relationship between family size and number of medicinal species, and (iii) use regression residuals to assess medicinal over- or underutilization of groups.

Linear regression between URs per family and number of plant species per family

Our results on most reported plant species from Lamiaceae family are in line with previous studies on various cultures [ 17 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The local importance and acceptance of any plant family may be referred to the presence of active phytochemicals, which may be effective in certain pathological conditions [ 40 ]. Additionally, the reason behind the usage of a specific family may be due its predominance in a geographical area as well as familiarity among the local people.

Out of the reported 64 medicinal plants, herbaceous (68%) life form was dominantly used in drug preparation. The most frequent plant parts were leaves (30%) followed by whole plants (20%) and fruits (16%) (Fig.  3 ). Herbaceous life form and leaves’ usage in ethnomedicinal recipes have been reported in several studies [ 12 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. The leaves and aerial plant parts are active in the process of autotrophy and metabolism and can be easily collected [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. However, in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), roots have been indicated as the dominant part in recipes preparation [ 48 , 49 ]. The composition of a particular ethnomedicine varies from species to species as for one species the active part could be the leaf while for other it may be root. In any case, phytopharmacological screening of all plant parts is necessary to validate the local traditional knowledge and search new compounds for the modern allopathic medicines. In this study, various methods of drug preparation and administration have been documented, which were being applied by the local herbalists. Mainly, the ethnomedicines were administered orally along with other additives. Our results are in line with other studies, in which ethnomedicines were utilized along with some solvents/additives to reduce the bitter taste of the remedy, mitigate the toxic consequences such as vomiting and diarrhea, and maximize drugs’ efficiency [ 17 , 50 , 51 ].

Most frequently used plant parts in the study region

In terms of oral use of herbal recipes, mainly, the plant powder was ingested with water or as decoction and very rarely juice was extracted (Fig.  4 ). These findings are similar to the previous studies [ 13 , 52 ]. On the other side, paste and grinded herbs were extensively used to treat a particular dermal disease. Other studies have also reported the decoction as the widely accepted administrative form of herbal medicines [ 17 , 41 , 53 ]. Reported medicinal plants were used for various health conditions and diseases. Most of the remedies were based on single plant’s application due to palatability, non-toxicity and high efficacy [ 41 ]. Some remedies were prepared in a combination of two or more plants to gain maximum therapeutic effect (synergism).

Preparation methods of herbal medicines

A total of 19 groups of health conditions were recorded based on symptoms (Fig.  5 ). The local herbalists usually diagnose a specific ailment by symptoms and signs, while not using the modern laboratory techniques. Highest number of plants were used for digestive problems (30 species) followed by as tonic (13 species) and diuretic (13 specie) (Fig.  5 ). These results are in parallel with the previous findings reported from various parts of the country [ 18 , 19 , 36 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], in which gastrointestinal complaints were declared common. The existence of digestive disorders as a main use category in the study area may be due to the ingestion of contaminated foods and other toxic explosive material produced as a result of previous armed conflicts in the area. Furthermore, lack of proper sanitation, less access to clean water, and fuel wood’s smoke inhalation may contribute to gastric problems. Gastrointestinal disorders are predominant across the globe, for which a large number of medicinal plants are being used by different cultures [ 27 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 52 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. In the study area, local people are aware of the toxic consequences of some orally used medicinal plants such as Nerium oleander L. and Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand. These plants can cause nausea and vomiting in humans and death of cattle if not properly administered.

Number of plants used to treat different ailments in the study area

Important medicinal plants

Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants has contributed to the modern day pharmaceutics in the form of important drugs. As an example, these include quinine ( Cinchona succirubra ), colchicines ( Colchicum autumnale ), digitalis glycosides ( Digitalis spp.), morphine, codeine, papaverine ( Papaver somniferum ), physostigmine ( Physostigma venenosum ), and pilocarpine ( Pilocarpus jaborandi ) [ 61 ]. Hence, the need for searching new products from medicinal plants is essential component for the current and future generations.

In our study, the importance of a medicinal plant species was indicated by use reports (URs). Maximum URs were recorded for Caralluma tuberculata N.E. Br. (49), Thymus serphyllum L. (49), Fagonia cretica L. (47), and Plantago lanceolata L. (45). Other plants are important for the indigenous communities; however, they were reported with lower URs. Moreover, new uses of Boerhaavia elongata Brandegee and Fumaria officinalis L have also been recorded in this study. These species are being discussed as follow:

Caralluma tuberculata N.E. Br.

C. tuberculata locally known as Pamankay is extensively used against jaundice, dysentery, stomach pain, high blood pressure and as carminative in the area. In addition, the plant is also being utilized as vegetable and carry high price (4 USD/kg) in the local market. In Pakistan, wild and cultivated C. tuberculata is traditionally used in tea for the treatment of diabetes [ 62 ].

In Quetta (Pakistan), there is a tradition for the treatment of high blood pressure by chewing fresh plant of C. tuberculata after each meal, thrice a day for 1 month [ 62 ]. The plant is also utilized for blood purification in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Iran [ 62 , 63 , 64 ]. Reports have shown its uses for the treatment of digestive disorders such as diarrhea, ulcer, constipation, and abdominal pain [ 63 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. Skin problems are also being treated by the use of this plant in Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Oman [ 62 , 64 , 68 ]. Furthermore, chewing of fresh plant is considered effective in pimples, freckles, blood purification, rheumatism, and pyrexia [ 67 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. Caralluma extracts cause the secretion of synovial fluids, which enhances joints mobility and efficiency. The aerial parts of the plant have been scientifically validated for anti-malarial activity [ 70 ].

Khan et al. [ 14 ] reported that the methanolic extract of C. tuberculata has inhibited the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger . Parekh and Chanda [ 72 ] have also found its antifungal activity against Pheretima posthuma and Candida albicans . Moreover, chloroform and methanolic extracts of C. tuberculata have shown antioxidant activity [ 73 ]. Its ethyl acetate extract was found to be the most potent anti-proliferative fraction against breast cancer and other tumor cell lines while the steroidal glycosides were found to possess moderate micromolar cytotoxic activity on breast cancer and other cells [ 74 ]. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of C. tuberculata have shown hypoglycemic activity at a dose of 70.42 mg/kg in allaxon-fed diabetic male Albino rats [ 75 ]. Various research studies have indicated that the bioactivities of C. tuberculata might be due to the presence of certain classes of compounds including pregnane glycosides, flavonoid, flavones, and glycosides [ 36 ].

Thymus serphyllum L.

T. serphyllum is widely used as antispasmodic, carminative, stomachic, tonic, and anti-diuretic in the study area. It regulates the menstrual cycle, improves the poor vision, and is used for the treatment of liver disorders. Studies conducted in different parts of the world have shown that the aerial parts of T. serpyllum has a long tradition in Europe [ 76 ] and worldwide as anthelmintic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, deodorant, diaphoretic, disinfectant, expectorant, sedative, and tonic [ 77 ]. It is most frequently used for gastric problems and respiratory problems [ 78 , 79 ]. In Western Balkans, the species is used as a sedative [ 80 ], improving blood circulation, anticholesterolemic and immunostimulant [ 81 ]. In the alpine region of northeastern Italy, infusion or decoction of plant’s aerial parts is used for the treatment of rheumatism [ 82 ]. Gairola et al. [ 32 ] mentioned the use of wild thyme in some regions of India for the treatment of menstrual disorders while Shinwari and Gilani [ 83 ] confirmed its use as an anthelmintic in the Northern Pakistan. T. serpyllum is also used externally as an antiseptic and wound-healing agent [ 84 , 85 , 86 ].

Over the last two decades, attention has been given to investigate the chemical composition of T. serpyllum ’s essential oil [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 ]. According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) for Herbal Medicines, the chief component of essential oil is carvacrol, while it also contains borneol, isobutyl acetate, caryophyllene,1,8-cineole, citral, citronellal, citronellol, p -cymene, geraniol, linalool, α -pinene, γ -terpinene, α -terpineol, terpinyl acetate, and thymol in relatively high concentrations [ 92 ]. According to European Pharmacopeia, T. serpyllum contain at least 1.2% essential oil, out of which the total content of carvacrol and thymol is 40% or higher [ 93 ]. In addition to the essential oil, wild thyme also contains flavonoids, phenol carboxylic acids and their derivatives, triterpenes and tannins [ 92 , 94 ]. Kulisic et al. [ 95 ] also reported γ -terpinene and p-cymene among the main components of the essential oil. The compositions and concentrations of compounds in the essential oil of T. serpyllum are significantly different across Pakistan and worldwide. For instance, the essential oil of T. serpyllum growing in Pakistan contains mainly thymol (53.3%) and carvacrol (10.4%) [ 88 ], while another study by Hussain et al. [ 89 ] reported carvacrol (44.4%) and ocymene (14.0%) from the Gilgit valley of Pakistan. Hazzit et al. [ 96 ] found that the antioxidant potential of T. serpyllum may be attributed to the phenol constituents of essential oil, which justifies the traditional uses of wild thyme. However, the antioxidant activity of its essential oil is not only due to the presence of certain dominant components but also the synergism of a larger number of compounds in small amounts including trans - nerolidol, germacrene D, β -cadinene, and δ -bisabolene [ 26 ].

Antimicrobial assays revealed that ethanol and aqueous extracts of T. serpyllum carries inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus subtilis , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella choleraesuis , Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella Typhi , Shigella ferarie , Bacillus megaterium , Bacillus subtilis , Lactobacillus acidophilus , Micrococcus luteus , Staphylococcus albus , and Vibrio cholera [ 88 , 97 , 98 ]. The hexane extract of the species demonstrated best anticancer activity against HepG 2 (Liver Carcinoma Cell Line) followed by HCT-116 (Colon Cancer Cell Line), MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 (Breast Cancer Cell Lines), PC3 (Prostate Cancer Cell Line), and A549 (Lung Carcinoma Cell Line) [ 99 ].

Fagonia cretica L.

In our study, extract from the whole plant of F. cretica was utilized for curing diabetes mellitus, blood purification, as anti-inflammatory and for abdominal pain. The juice obtained from its leaves is used as anthelminthic. Aziz et al. [ 18 ] reported the extracts of F. cretica for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, scabies, gastric problems, expulsion of abdomen worms, blood purification and inflammation. The list of diseases treated by the F. cretica includes sore mouth and small pox [ 100 ]. Additionally, it is also used as hematological, neurological, endocrinological, dermatological, and anti-inflammatory, for small pox and endothermic reactions in the body [ 101 , 102 ]; for cold and cough [ 103 ]; as astringent, febrifuge, thirst, vomiting, dysentery, asthma, urinary discharges, typhoid, toothache, stomach troubles and anti-tumor [ 104 ]. Similarities in plants’ usage in the current study with that of previous studies may be due to similarities in floral composition, propinquity and other cultural values.

Pharmacological studies have shown that F. cretica carries anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antioxidant and thrombolytic activities [ 105 ]. Aqueous extract of F. cretica has anti-breast cancer effect without common side effects of standard cytotoxic therapy [ 106 ]. Methanolic extract has been reported as hemorrhagic inhibitor against snake venom as compared to standard antiserum [ 107 ]. The alcoholic extract of the plant exhibits significant inhibitory potential against Salmonella typhi a causative agent of typhoid fever [ 108 ]. Moreover, it has also shown inhibitory potential against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus epidermidis , and Klebsiella pneumoni [ 109 , 110 ]. Phytochemical investigation of the plant revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, coumarins, sterols, and glycosides in different polar and non-polar extracts of its parts [ 109 , 110 , 111 ]. Anjum et al. [ 112 ] isolated 11 new compounds from the n -hexane extract of F. cretica including Linoleic acid, b-sitosteryl-3-O-b-D-(60-hexadecanoyl)-glucopyranoside, octacosonic acid, methyl triacantanoate, b-Amyrin acetate, taraxerol, oleanolic aldehyde acetate, triacontanoic acid, taraxerone,2a,3a,23 trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid, 3a,23-dihydroxyrus-12-en-28-oicacid. Isolated compounds from F. cretica extracts indicated antifungal potential against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani , and Candida glabrata strains. Among 11 isolated compounds, “taraxerol” has shown highest inhibitory effects against Aspergillus flavus with 90-mm zone of inhibition compared to the 20 mm for Miconazole standard [ 112 ]. The pharmacological evidences of this rare plant in terms of antimicrobial, anticancer, and other activities suggest further clinical trials to validate its traditional uses.

Plantago lanceolata L.

Infusion obtained from the leaves of P. lanceolata is used as expectorant, emollient and demulcent in the study area. It is useful for cough, cold, fever and bronchitis while the extract is used as purgative and laxative. The powder obtained from the leaves is applied topically on inflamed wounds. In previous studies, P. lanceolata has been reported for the treatment of cough, bronchitis, and as stomachache, dysmenorrheal, expectorant, emollient, demulcent, astringent and laxative [ 18 , 54 , 79 ]. Phytochemical constituents isolated from this plant include silica, potassium, alphaamyrin, mucilage, zinc, glycosides, caffeic and tannins. Khalid et al. [ 113 ] revealed that Plantago has demulcent, astringent expectorant, having healing and soothing effect on intestinal mucosal layer. Reports have shown that the crude extract of P. lanceolata have the potential to combat with multidrug resistant K. pneumonia [ 114 , 115 ].

Boerhaavia elongata Brandegee and Fumaria officinalis L.

Powdered leaves of B. elongate are used for swellings and external body infections while the decoction of its root is used against kidney stones. In the same way, F. officinalis is utilized for the cure of blood purification, skin problems, and allergy and as laxative. A detailed and comprehensive literature survey was carried out by investigating various bibliographic sources in order to sort out the novelty of the reported indigenous flora [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 22 , 42 , 43 , 54 , 83 , 88 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ]. After thorough search, no previous reports were found for the two medicinal plants. However, new medicinal uses were found with moderate number of URs from the study area for B. elongata and F. officinalis , which are scarcely mentioned in previous ethnobotanical studies across the country. Other important plants, which were commonly used by the local community having high URs, were Mentha longifolia (L.) L. (43), Zizyphus jujuba Mill. (43), Nannorrhops ritchieana (Griff.) Aitch. (41), Cannabis sativa L. (41), Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dunal (41), and Coriandrum sativum L. (41). These species require comprehensive phytopharmacological investigations to validate their efficacy and ensure their safe utilization.

Threats to the indigenous flora

During the field survey, certain important plants were found under the threat of anthrpogenic pressure. As an example, C. tuberculata and N. ritchieana were found endangered in their natural habitats due to over collection. These are the two species, which are harvested by the local people for economic benefits. The local people claimed that fuel wood collection, roads and homes construction, uncontrolled fire setting, fodder collection, and over-grazing are the possible factors responsible for the destruction of the natural habitats of the medicinal plants. The rate of such activities varies from place to place. People are unaware of the conservation of the medicinal plants. In addition to the aforementioned threats and processes, armed conflict in the area for the last one decade is an alarming concern for the conservation of the medicinal flora. The use of explosive material in the area has made several plants contaminated with corrosive material. Furthermore, no conservation strategies have been adopted in the study area to avoid overexploitation of the wild species. However, some plants are being cultivated and marketed by the farmers, which include Morus alba , Olea cuspidata , and Punica granatum. This local initiative of the indigenous communities to gain economic benefits from the local flora may promote the interest for the conservation and regulation of local flora to safeguard the threatened species [ 126 ].

This study has played an important role in the preservation of traditional knowledge from a remote area, where the folk knowledge is eroding at a faster rate due to several factors including the rapid modernization. The traditional knowledge is mostly in the custody of local herbalists and elder community members. The study has reported a total of 64 medicinal plant species belonging to 36 families. Lamiaceae and Asteraceae were the utmost used plant families in the study area. Species such as C. tuberculata and T. serphyllum have highest number of use reports and are mostly used by the local people. Two medicinal plant species including B. elongata and F. officinalis were reported with new ethnomedicinal uses with confidential level of citations from the study area. Certain medicinal plants have reportedly been screened phytochemically and tested pharmacologically; however, the traditional uses of a large number of plants still remain to be validated. Hence, our study stress on the need for the phytochemical, pharmacological, microbiological, toxicological, preclinical, and clinical investigations to ensure the safety and efficacy of the reported medicinal taxa. Our study also highlighted certain threats faced to the local flora including deforestation, heavy grazing, and overexploitation that are affecting the process of sustainability. Hence, sound conservation strategies need to be developed and implemented for the sustainable utilization of medicinal flora and preservation of traditional knowledge.

Abbreviations

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Traditional Chinese Medicines

Use reports

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through research group no RGP-262. We are also thankful to WWF, Peshawar, Pakistan, for technical and financial support in the field data collection. The authors are grateful to Izzat Ullah (Pharmacist) and Dr. Abdul Haq (Taxonomist). The authors are also thankful to the indigenous community for sharing their precious traditional knowledge. Authors express their best gratitude towards the traditional healers of the study area.

This research study did not receive any grant from any organization.

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Muhammad Abdul Aziz & Muhammad Adnan

Department of Botany, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, District Dir (Upper), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Amir Hasan Khan

Department of Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Aromatic, and Poisonous Plants Research Center, College of Pharmacy King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

Abdelaaty Abdelaziz Shahat, Mansour S. Al-Said & Riaz Ullah

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AHK carried out the field work. MAA compiled the data. MAA and AHK prepared the draft manuscript during first submission. In revised version of the manuscript, three other researchers, i.e., AAS, MSA, and RU, have been added as co-authors due to their technical supportive work and help during text incorporation for the improvement of the revised manuscript. These authors also did help in the analysis (new) of data manuscript. MA supervised all the stages of this study and provided comments on the draft manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Aziz, M.A., Adnan, M., Khan, A.H. et al. Traditional uses of medicinal plants practiced by the indigenous communities at Mohmand Agency, FATA, Pakistan. J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine 14 , 2 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-017-0204-5

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Received : 12 June 2017

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Published : 09 January 2018

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-017-0204-5

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The traditional medicine and modern medicine from natural products.

1. Introduction

2. natural products, 3. traditional medicines, 4. drugs developed from traditional medicines that follow the traditional uses, 5. drugs developed from natural products, 6. discussion, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Yuan, H.; Ma, Q.; Ye, L.; Piao, G. The Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine from Natural Products. Molecules 2016 , 21 , 559. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21050559

Yuan H, Ma Q, Ye L, Piao G. The Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine from Natural Products. Molecules . 2016; 21(5):559. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21050559

Yuan, Haidan, Qianqian Ma, Li Ye, and Guangchun Piao. 2016. "The Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine from Natural Products" Molecules 21, no. 5: 559. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21050559

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History and Culture of Traditional and Ethnomedicinal Plants of India

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• Aryama Mishra 5 &
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This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the significant role played by various plants in the realms of ethnic medicines and cultural traditions. The inhabitants of earlier eras employed these plants in diverse ways, leading them to take special measures to ensure their conservation. This chapter explores the historical and cultural aspects of these plants, discovering their utilization since ancestral times.

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Mishra, A., Madhukar, V.K. (2024). History and Culture of Traditional and Ethnomedicinal Plants of India. In: Kumar Srivastava, A., Ahirwar, R.K., Yadav, D., Kumar, D.G. (eds) Ethnomedicinal Plants for Drug Discovery. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3405-4_1

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Phytochemical analysis of some selected traditional medicinal plants in Ethiopia

• Misganaw Gedlu Agidew 1  

Bulletin of the National Research Centre volume  46 , Article number:  87 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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This review of relevant medicinal plants is based on the fundamental knowledge accumulated by indigenous people of Ethiopia and to identify which types of selected medicinal plants for phytochemical analysis were analyzed and which one is not analyzed at Ethiopian levels. In this review, the most traditional medicinal plant species found and used in Ethiopia are chosen.

The qualitative phytochemical analysis, some of which are the most important phytochemicals such as phenolic, tannins, alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phlobatannins, anthraquinones, and reducing sugars are studied by the researcher. Most studies have revealed that some phytochemicals are present in some medicinal plants while some are absent. The phytochemical properties of some species were studied like Artemisia afra (Ariti), Aloe Vera (Erret), Yzygium guineense (Dokuma), Ruta chalepensis (Tenadam), Ocimum grattissimum (Damakese), Nigella sativa (Tikur Azmud), Lepidium sativum (Feto), Hagenia abyssinica (Kosso), Croton macrostachyus (Bisana), and Rhamnus prinoides (Gesho).

Conclusions

This review has shown that traditional medicinal plants whose phytochemical properties are not studied have various medicinal purposes like treating mastitis, preventing boils, hemorrhoids, congestion, headache, hepatitis, liver, vertigo, stomatitis, kidneys, liver, and vision for treating anemia, hemorrhoid coughs, fluxes, and stomatitis in most animals and human beings. So that identifying the plants based on the investigation and analysis of phytochemical properties of such plant species are more important than Ethiopian levels.

Medicinal plants still play important roles in the daily lives of people living in developing countries of Asia and Africa, including Ethiopia. Medicinal plants not only serve as complements or substitutes for modern medical treatments, which are often inadequately available but also enhance the health and security of local people. Thus, these plants play indispensable roles in daily life and are deeply connected to diverse social, cultural, and economic events associated with life, aging, illness, and death (JAFICOAF 2008). Medicinal plants are used to treat and diagnose diseases and infections. From ancient times, plants have been rich sources of effective and safe medicines (Russell-Smith et al. 2006 ).

The world health organization (WHO) defined traditional medicine as the total combination of knowledge and practices that can be formally explained or used in the prevention and elimination of physical, mental, or social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally or in writing. About 75–90% of the rural population in the world (excluding western countries) relies on traditional medicines as their only health care system. This is not only because of poverty where people cannot afford to buy expensive modern drugs, but traditional systems are also more culturally acceptable and meet the psychological needs in a way modern medicine does not (Fassil Kibebe 2001 ).

Ethnomedicinal practices are believed to be one of the potential bases for the development of safe and effective treatments. Ethiopia has a long history of a traditional health care system, but studies on traditional medicinal plants (TMP) have been limited in comparison to the country’s multiethnic, cultural, and flora diversity (Fentahun et al. 2017 ), Also, the use of medicinal plants to treat infections is an old practice in large parts of Ethiopia to solve health problems for livestock and humans (Redda et al. 2014 ; Giday et al. 2009 ; Regassa 2013 ; Abera 2014 ; Tamene 2020 ; Mulatu 2020 ).

Increasing traditional medicines and natural plant products

The main phytochemical components, present in medicinal plants are tannins, alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phlobatannins, anthraquinones, and reducing sugars. As proposed by WHO, the primary health care of most population of developing countries depend on traditional medicines and mostly natural plant products (Vines 2004 ). Like the worldwide countries, populations of Ethiopia use traditional medicines in both rural and urban areas. Traditional practice and activities have a long history in many areas in the Ethiopia and it will continue to give useful and applicable tools for treating disease (Helen et al. 2019 ).

Different traditional medicinal plant species are studied by different researchers in the world and in the Ethiopian. Ethiopia comprises people with many languages, cultures, and beliefs. This makes for a rich and diverse knowledge and practice of traditional medicine, including herbal remedies (Helen et al. 2019 ). There are different literature reviews that investigated and studied the Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological evidence of some Ethiopian medicinal plants traditionally used for the Treatment of Cancer, skin problems, leprosy, and external parasites, Evil eye, and wound treatment in the Ethiopia. However, there is no report that could show phytochemical composition and its expanded pharmacological application in the folk medicine of some traditional medicinal plants in the country of Ethiopia. Moreover, this knowledge of identifications of studied and unstudied phytochemical composition of medicinal plants in Ethiopia can serve as the baseline data for researchers and analyzers for the further study of traditional medicinal plants in Ethiopia (Helen et al. 2019 ).

The medicinal power of traditional plants species lies in phytochemical components that cause definite pharmacological action on the human body (Naseem 2014 ). Based on their metabolism activity in the plant, phytochemicals components are generally can be mainly divided into two groups, which are primary which has mainly sugars, amino acids, chlorophyll and proteins, and secondary constituents while secondary constituents consist of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, phenolic compounds and many more (Krishnaiah 2007 ).

The most important components of the medicinal plant were isolated by the extraction methods by using the right solvent. Each researcher in the published articles in this review, different methods of extraction such as ethanol, methanol, chloroform, acetone, hexane, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and aqueous (water) were used to the phytochemical composition of plant species. The objective of this review was to collect and summarize the information about the medicinal plant and to classify the plants based on the studies of their phytochemical composition as well as this provides information for the research community to conduct further scientific investigations in Ethiopia’s medicinal plants.

Materials and methods

In this review, the data and information on the traditional medicinal plants in Ethiopia were collected from the published papers, which are available online in different forms such as books, published articles, and research reports. Different online sources such as Google Scholar and gray literature were the source of published articles by browsing the different words or terms like medicinal plants and Ethiopian traditional plants. For this review, scientific name, family name, local name, and important, obtained from the published articles that were obtained online, and the data are shown in Table 23 .

There are various traditional medicinal plants used to treat different illnesses and diseases in Ethiopia which did not describe plant species by scientific names; and review articles, are excluded. For this review paper, a total of 53 plant species that are recognized and grown in Ethiopia are documented. From those plant species, the phytochemical composition of some plant species is studied by a researcher and some are not studied. The most important components of the medicinal plant were isolated by the extraction methods by using different solvents. In all reported literature, different solvent such as ethanol, methanol, chloroform, acetone, hexane, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and water was used as solvent.

The main aim of this review is to collect and summarize the information about the medicinal plant and to classify the plants based on the studies of their phytochemical composition as well as to provide information for the research community to conduct further scientific investigations on the Ethiopia medicinal plants.

Results and discussions

Phytochemical analysis.

Traditional medicine plays a significant role in the healthcare of the people in developing countries, including Ethiopia, and medicinal plants provide a valuable contribution to this practice (Tesfahuneygn and Gebreegziabher 2019 ). In this review, around 33 medicinal plants species were identified from published articles. The different parts of the plant such as root, leaves, and fruit, in which these different parts have many traditional values, pharmacological uses, and phytochemical constituents were mentioned. From few medication values of plant parts, to treat rheumatism, madness, snakebite, chest pain, jaundice chest pain, malaria, headache, cough, etc. All the medicinal plants are shown in the table form with the scientific name, families, local name, and importance. Most plants were reported and investigated in Ethiopia. As reported by many authors, some medicinal plants with their scientific name, family, local name and their importance are shown in Table 23 , and these plant species listed in this review were often used by the people in Ethiopia.

Phytochemicals

Analysis of the phytochemical properties of the medicinal plants used to show and isolate the drug, lead compounds and components from the parts of the plant. The unique biological activity of the plants can be identified by their phytochemicals properties. Most parts of the plants used for the analysis of the phytochemical properties were leaves, roots, stem barks, and fruits. In this review, medicinal plants were investigated for phytochemical constituents of ethanol, methanol, chloroform, acetone, hexane, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and aqueous (water) extraction of different phytochemicals.

In this review, the most published articles recognized the presence of phytochemical components in the plants was indicated by the positive sign (+) and the absence of phytochemical components in the plants, by the negative sign (−) as shown in table.

Alkaloids are one of the main and largest components produced by plants, and they are metabolic byproducts that are derived from the amino acids (Naseem 2014 ). Based on the published articles in these reviews, alkaloids were extracted from the different parts of the plants using different solvents such as ethanol, methanol, chloroform, acetone, hexane, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and aqueous (water). These types of solvents extract phytochemical components from medicinal plants like leaves, roots, stem bark, and fruits.

Flavonoids consist of a large group of polyphenol compounds having a benzoyl-γ-pyrone structure and are ubiquitously present in plants. They are synthesized by the phenylpropanoid pathway. Available reports tend to show that secondary metabolites of a phenolic nature including flavonoids, are responsible for the variety of pharmacological activities (Mahomoodally et al. 2005 ; Pandey 2007 ). Flavonoids are hydroxylated phenolic substances and are known to be synthesized by plants in response to microbial infection (Dixon et al. 1983 ). In this review, flavonoids were detected in most plant species but in some medicinal plants were not present the same plant but different solvents like eucalyptus and Agenda Abyssinia leaves.

The term tannin is widely applied to a complex large biomolecule of polyphenol nature having sufficient hydroxyls and other suitable groups such as carboxyl to form strong complexes with various macromolecules (Navarrete 2013 ). In this present review, tannins were detected in most plant species like peel and juice of Citrus medica, mango ( Mangifera indica L .) leaves, Avocado fruit ( Persea Americana ), Dioscorea alata leaf , of Leucas aspera L . leaf and root, Ocimum gratissimum Linn leaf, Rhamnus prinoides root, extract of Rhizomes , Zingiber officinale and Curcuma longa and also for different solvent give different response for the same plant species like Bersama abyssinica leaf, F lax seeds , Nigella sativa , Ruta chalepensis leaves, and Syzygium guineense and not totally detected in part of plants like Lepidium sativum seeds and love Gilbetii root. Tannins are generally used in the tanning process and used as healing agents in inflammation, burn, piles, and gonorrhea (Boroushaki et al. 2016 ).

Saponins are an important group of plant secondary metabolites that are widespread throughout the plant kingdom. Saponins are basically phytochemicals that are found in most vegetables, beans, and herbs (Francis et al. 2002 ; Haralampidis et al. 2002 ). In this review, saponins were detected in most medicinal plants like citrus fruit juice , of Mango ( Mangifera indica L .) leaves, Avocado fruit ( Persea americana ), Leucas aspera L . leaf, and root, Rhamnus prinoides root, Bitter ( Vernonia amygdalina ) leaf and Stem bark of Vernonia amygdalina in common plant species and some plants were shown different results, that depends on solvent and also not totally detected in part of the plant such as Bersama abyssinica leaf, Dioscorea alata leaf, love Gilbertii root, and Flax seeds .

The word steroid is derived from sterol, which is a natural or synthetic chemically active hormone-like element. A steroid is one of a large group of chemical substances classified by a specific carbon structure. Steroids include drugs used to relieve swelling and inflammation, such as prednisone and cortisone; vitamin D; and some sex hormones, such as testosterone and estradiol (Hill et al. 2007 ). For this review, Steroids were detected in most plant species like citrus fruit juice , peel and juice of citrus Medica , Flaxseeds , Nigella sativa , Ocimum gratissimum Linn leaf, Syzygium guineans root, and Root and Stem bark of Vernonia amygdalina in common plant species while in some plant species were shown variable result that depends on the given solvents and not totally detected in the part of the plant like Rhamnus prinoides root.

Terpenoids are small molecular products synthesized by plants and are probably the most widespread group of natural products. Terpenoids show significant pharmacological activities, such as antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, inhibition of cholesterol synthesis, and anti-cancer activities (Boroushaki et al. 2016 ). As mentioned earlier, Terpenoids were detected in most analysis plant species such as citrus fruit juice , Hagenia abyssinica leaves, Leucas aspera L . leaf and root, Flax seeds , Ocimum gratissimum linn leaf, Ruta chalepensis leaves, and Syzygium guineans root while in some plants its result depends on the types of solvents.

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites, which are produced in the shikimic acid of plants and pentose phosphate through phenylpropanoid metabolization (Derong Lin et al. 2016 ). In this review, phenolic was detected in most the medicinal plants like citrus fruit juice, peel and juice of citrus medica, mango ( Mangifera indica L .) leaves and Avocado fruit ( Persea Americana ), eucalyptus leaves, Flax seeds , Rhamnus prinoides root, of Rhizomes , Zingiber officinale, and Curcuma longa but some medicinal plant is given different response and depend on the solvents.

Even though there are so many medicinal plants in Ethiopia, this review of the phytochemical analysis shows that some medicinal plants were studied by the investigator in different areas of Ethiopia, while some traditional plants are not studied. According to the data of published articles, the extraction techniques of the medicinal plants were mainly digestion and aqueous-alcohol extraction. From Tables show that phytochemical investigation results are available in the Ethiopia area levels.

Above the Table 1 , phytochemical screening of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, phenols and phytosterols were the secondary metabolites found in the crude extract of Echinops amplexicaulis , Ruta chalepensis , and Salix subserrata . The methanol extracts of Echinops amplexicaulis and Salix subserrata contain most of the secondary metabolites.

In terms of the qualitative phytochemical investigation of the medicinal plants, the medicinal plants extract had different phytochemicals constituents such as saponins, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, phenolic compounds, cardiac glycosides, and flavonoids (Table 2 ).

Phytochemical investigations from these medicinal plants have shown a large number of organic complex and biologically active compounds.

The results of the qualitative phytochemicals analysis showed that the leaf extracts of Lippia adonis var. koseret also indicated the presence of tannins, flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids and saponins, while in the case of ethyl acetate alkaloids were not detected and tannins were absent in petroleum ether extract (Table 3 ). Amino acids and carbohydrates were absent in all three extracts.

In this review, phytochemical screening of Bersama abyssinica leaf in Table 4 shown that the most published articles recognized the presences of specific phytochemical components in the plants was indicated by the positive sign (+) and the absence of phytochemical components in the plants, by the negative sign (−). These phytochemical constituents in Bersama abyssinica leaf were shown variable results that depend on the given solvents and are not totally detected in Bersama abyssinica leaf.

The results in Table 5 show that there are phytochemical components in Citrus fruit juice concentrates. These phytochemical constituents all are found in citrus fruit juice concentrates except cardiac glycosides were not detected in lemon and they indicated highly medicinal values. It can be suggested that the presence of phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, and reducing sugar in Citrus fruit juice indicates are highly medicinal value.

From Table 6 , flavonoids, phenols, tannins, steroids, coumarin and cardioactive glycosides: have shown positive tests of ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of peel and juice of citrus medica, while some phytochemical positive test and totally not detected like (anthraquinones, alkaloids, and terpenoids). These secondary metabolites are known to be biologically active and play significant roles in the bioactivity of medicinal plants because the medicinal values of the medicinal plant lie in these phytochemical compounds which produce a definite and specific action on the human body.

Based on the given data from Table 7 , phytochemical screening of ethanol extract of mango ( Mangifera indica L .) leaves and Avocado ( Persea americana ) fruits almost all are were detected but terpenoids were not detected in Mango ( Mangifera indica L .). The phytochemical are naturally occurring chemicals in plants which serve as medicinal for the protection of human disease; the phytochemicals are nonnutritive plants chemical that have protection or disease preventive properties.

In this review, the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, and tannins while the terpenoids positive test of methanol extract and the remaining phytochemical components are were not detected. These results show that phytochemical depend on solvents (Table 8 ).

Table 9 , the presence of flavonoid, tannin, and phenol in methanol extract. The acetone extract obtained from the eucalyptus leaves was screened for phytochemicals. Qualitative phytochemical screening of acetone extract of eucalyptus leaves demonstrated the presence of saponins, carbohydrate, tannin, and phenol, while quinone, fat, protein, and flavonoid were absent.

In this review, the methanol, ethanol, n-hexane, and petroleum ether extract obtained from the Hagenia abyssinica leaves were screened for various phytochemicals from Table 10 . Qualitative phytochemical screening of methanol extract of Hagenia abyssinica leaves demonstrated the presence of saponins, flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, steroids, and glycosides, while tannins, anthraquinones, and alkaloids were absent. Phytochemical analysis of ethanol extract of Hagenia abyssinica leaves demonstrated the presence of saponins, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, and alkaloids, while steroids, glycosides and phlobatannins were absent. A similarity that phytochemical screening of n -hexane extract of Hagenia abyssinica leaves demonstrated the presence of flavonoids, anthraquinones and terpenoids but saponins, tannins, alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, and phlobatannins are not detected and Hagenia abyssinica leaves extracted by petroleum ether were obtained presence of phytochemical only saponins and terpenoids, while other phytochemicals are not detected.

Phytochemicals screening in the plant extracts revealed the presence of flavonoid, stereol and polyterpenes, and saponified present in both methanol and ethyl acetate extract of Lepidium sativum s eeds and also flavonoids were present in petroleum ether extract of Lepidium sativum seeds while other phytochemical components were not detected (Table 11 ).

In this review, phytochemical screening of the aqueous, methanol, and hexane extracts of Leucas aspera L . leaf and root revealed the presence of various medically active constituents from Table 12 . Almost all phytochemical compounds present in the aqueous, methanol, and hexane extracts of Leucas aspera L . leaf and root were identified except cholesterol and steroids in the parts of leaf and root by aqueous. These plants indicate highly medicinal values.

Phytochemical screening of the love Gilbertii root suggests the presence of major phytochemicals in the root extracts (Table 13 ). Dichloromethane: methanol of roots showed the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, and flavonoids whereas; tannins, saponins, and terpenoids were not presented.

As result in Table 14 , screening for phytochemicals in the plant extracts almost all presents in both acetone and methanol extracts of Flax seeds, while some phytochemical is not detected like tannins, saponins in acetone extract of Flax seeds and also saponins were presented by methanol extract of flaxseeds. In addition to this phytochemicals screening of ethanol and water extract of flaxseeds almost phytochemical components presents and some phytochemicals not totally detected. These secondary metabolites are known to be biologically active and play significant roles in the bioactivity of medicinal plants because the medicinal values of the medicinal plant lie in these phytochemical compounds which produce a definite and specific action on the human body.

This review was shown in the (Table 15 ) phytochemical analysis of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate seed extract of Nigella sativa contains tannins, steroids, terpenoids and alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, glycosides and steroids were found in the extract and are potent methanol soluble while some phytochemicals were not presented since it depends on the solvents.

In the present review, phytochemical screening of methanol and aqueous extracts of Ocimum gratissimum Linn leaf showed that the presence of tannins, phlorotannins, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides with steroidal ring whereas, saponins and sugar were not present in methanol solvent and also alkaloids were not absent in Table 16 . These detected phytochemical compounds are known to have beneficial importance in medicinal as well as physiological activities. In this manner, isolating and identifying these bioactive compounds, new drugs can be formulated to treat various diseases and disorders.

Table 17 shows the phytochemicals detected in Rhamnus prinoides root extract. Tests for triterpenes, saponins, tannins, phenols, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, and resins were positive in both aqueous and methanol/water extracts. Alkaloids were detected only in the methanol/water extract while steroids, flavonoids, flavones, and anthraquinones were not detected in both aqueous and methanol/water extracts. These phytochemicals may be responsible for the medicinal value of Rhamnus prinoides .

Phytochemical screening of ethanol/water (1:1) extract of Rhizomes, Zingiber officinale, and Curcuma longa showed the presence of phenolic, flavonoids, glycosides, and tannins whereas alkaloids were not present (Table 18 ).

The phytochemical analysis of Ruta chalepensis leaves extract in methanol showed that phytochemical components include; alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, phenols, saponins, tannins and anthraquinones and steroids were not present. Steroids, terpenoids and saponins were additionally present in both ethyl acetate and acetone extract, and also flavonoids, terpenoids, and anthraquinones were detected in the n-hexane extract, while others were not totally found in Table 19 .

In Table 20 , the presence of steroids, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, phenol, and glycosides were present in both dichloromethane/methanol and methanol extracts and steroids and terpenoids also were present in n-hexane extract whereas other phytochemicals components were not detected.

From Table 21 , it can be seen that the sample extracts showed positive tests for the presence of alkaloids, saponin, tannins, phlorotannin, glycosides, and flavonoids except for anthraquinones. Therefore, Bitter ( Vernonia amygdalina ) is the most frequently used for medicinal purposes.

In this review, the results revealed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, saponin, and phlorotannin methanol extracts from the root and stem bark of Vernonia amygdalina whereas only tannins and phenols were not detected (Table 22 ). Therefore, the phytochemical screening results reveals that the presence of these phytochemical constituents supports the use of the Vernonia amygdalina plant in folklore medications and it is probable that these phytochemicals are responsible for the healing properties.

A total of 53 traditional medicinal plants were identified in this review. All of the reviewed plants have direct traditional uses for treating either ailment with cancer-like symptoms (determined by the traditional practitioner) or for laboratory-confirmed cancer cases. Medicinal plants have continued to be the most affordable and easily accessible source for the treatment of several human and livestock ailments in Ethiopia. Besides treating cancer, the plants selected in this review are also cited for their various traditional uses, including for the treatment of eczema, leprosy, rheumatism, gout, ringworm, diabetes, respiratory complaints, warts, hemorrhoids, syphilis, and skin diseases (Table 23 ). The output calls for the need for further phytochemical and pharmacological investigation giving priority to those plants which have been cited most for their use to treat cancer.

In Ethiopia, there are increasing demands for many most popular, more available, and effective plant species by the people. As stated by the different authors in the above Tables, different phytochemicals were investigated in different plant species with different solvent concentrations. Even though different phytochemicals were analyzed for different plant species, their concentration varied from one plant species to another plant species for different parts of the plant. Based on the above information from the Table, one type of phytochemical cannot be detected in all plant species and the concentration of one phytochemical content varies from one part of the plant to another part which mean the concentration of one phytochemical content in leaves can vary from the concentrations of phytochemical contents in root and fruits. Generally, even though there are various medicinal plants in Ethiopia, there are no studies that show enough information about qualitative and quantitative phytochemical contents for most plant species in the country. This may be due to the lack of enough laboratory facilities and modern technology available in the country for improving the synthesis and extraction of phytochemical components for developing the new drug product and drug leading compounds from the different parts of the medicinal plants by the government and private company.

In conclusion, this study showed the wide use of medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Even though there is a wealth of indigenous knowledge transfer is declining from generation to generation as a result of oral transmission. Human beings around the world have spent their lives for a long time to discovering a new drug to diagnose, prevent and treat various diseases. To save their lives from dangerous diseases, a new and powerful drug must be discovered and developed from the different parts of the plant. In order to future promote for development of new drug synthesis and extraction of bioactive components from the parts of the plant, availability, and value of information is very important. From tables, phytochemicals analysis of different medicinal plants revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, phenolic compounds alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phlobatannins, glycosides, anthraquinones, steroids, terpenoids, and triterpene. Based on the above data available in the review, most phytochemical components of traditional medicinal plants in Ethiopia are not analyzed. This leads to more traditional plants in Ethiopia are not being recognized by the international scientific organization, not how to use medicinal plants for disease treatment and they do not have scientific names. This review recommended finding further most common medicinal plants to investigate in scientific research and to governing them in the scientific naming system and as well as further studies should focus on green synthesis of heavy metals on different types of medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Based on this review, the studied phytochemical characteristics of medicinal plants in Ethiopia are few, so further study could be needed for examining, and characterizing the properties of unrecognized plant species in Ethiopia.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used during the current study are available online in different forms such as books, various published journals and google scholar.

Abbreviations

Cirsium Englerianum

Cucumis Pustulatus

Discopodium Penninervium

Euphorbia Depauperata

Lippia Adoensis

Polysphaeria Aethiopica

Rumex Abyssinica

World Health Organization

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First and foremost, I would like to praise the Almighty God, and his wife Elsa Aweke for bestowing upon my health, strength, patience and protection throughout my study period.

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Agidew, M.G. Phytochemical analysis of some selected traditional medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Bull Natl Res Cent 46 , 87 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-022-00770-8

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• Medicinal plants
• Phytochemicals analysis
• Bioactive compounds
• Traditional medicines
• Ethiopian levels