Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants in and Around Alamata, Southern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

An ethnobotanical study was conducted to investigate the use of medicinal plants in and around Alamata district, southern Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Information was gathered from 15 traditional healers: 11 females and 4 males, using semistructured questionnaire. The healers were selected randomly and no appointment was made prior to the visits. Twenty-five medicinal plants used as a cure for 18 aliments were documented. Most (64%) of the traditional medicinal plants were found in cultivation. Most of the traditional medicinal plants were used in fresh form (64%) while 36% in dried from. The inhabitants rely on medicinal plants for various purposes such as forage, medicine, firewood, spice, construction and food. The most commonly used plant parts for herbal preparations were leaves (52%) and seeds (24%). The administration routes were oral (20%), dermal (48%), nasal (16%), oral or dermal (8%), chewing (4%) and through the ear (4%). Some (44%) of the remedies are mixed with water, butter, honey, Citrus limonum and Allium sativum while the remaining do not have any ingredients added. The findings revealed that indigenous practices contributed to the sustained use, management and conservation of medicinal and multiple-use indigenous trees. Our result suggested to carry out similar studies in areas not previously covered in order to get a full picture of the country’s medicinal plants potential in the future.