Jewar Safeno Jar <br/><br/>
Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat human ailments in Aseko District, Southeast Ethiopia 

 - P. 1073-1084 
<br/><br/> Aseko district, part of the Hararghe and Arsi Bale massivemountainous region in southeast Ethiopia, is renowned for its religious  culture  and  traditions.  The  local  People  believe  that  plants  are  sacred  to  God  and  hold  medicinal  potential.  This study  aims  to  investigate  ethnomedicinal  knowledge  of  plants  used  to treat  human  ailments  in  the  district.  Ethnobotanical data  were  collected  through  semi-structured  interviews,  key  informants'  interviews,  guided  field  observations,  and  focus group  discussions.  Quantitative  methods  wereemployed to  calculate  the  Informant  Consensus  Factor  (ICF),  preference ranking, and Fidelity level values. The finding revealed that 96 species (trees 24%; shrubs 28%; herbs 40%) belonging to 89 genera and 66 families are utilized as medicinal plants to treat human ailments by indigenous people and local communities of  the  district.  The  plant  Families  with  the  highest  number  of  species  were  Lamiaceae  and  Solanaceae,  followed  by Fabaceae. It  was  foundthat  leaves  (44%),  roots  (19%),  and  barks  (10%)  of  species  of  these  species  are  commonly  used,raising concerns that such extensive use may significantly reduce their populations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for aproper conservation plan and management strategy for medicinal plants. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Facted Index Terms: </label><br/>Ethnomedicine<br/> Indigenous knowledge<br/> Mode of preparation<br/>Route of administration,<br/>Traditional medicine