Use of Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases in Tanahun District of Nepal

H. Khanal¹ , U. Khanal²

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.7 , Issue.1 , pp.58-63, Jan-2021

Online published on Jan 31, 2021

Copyright © H. Khanal, U. Khanal . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Background: The diverse soil and climatic conditions make Nepal suitable for the growth of several medicinal plants. Medicinal plants play vital roles in the Nepalese livelihood and the use of medicinal plants is common in all parts of the country. This study aims to assess the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used by local people in Tanahun district of Nepal in the treatment of respiratory system related diseases. Methods: Data were collected in January and February, 2020 from four villages of Myagde rural municipality in Tanahun district by using semi-structured interviews and guided field works. Results: A total of 21 medicinal plants, belonging to 15 families were documented. Commonly used plant parts were leaves (33.33%), fruits (23.81%) and underground portions/ rhizome (19.04%). The most popular medicinal preparation is decoction, infusion, powder, paste and juice. Conclusions: The study area was found to be rich in plant resources so the uses of medicinal plants in this area need to be explored and documented before it lost forever. We believed that further pharmacological and clinical studies on these plants may provide effective herbal medicines for various respiratory disorders.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Medicinal plants, Ethno botany, Respiratory disease, Traditional medicine, Traditional healers, Nepal

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