Ethnobotanical Study of the Traditional Use and maintenance of Medicinal Plants by the People of Aleta-Chuko Woreda, South Ethiopia

Over centuries, indigenous people have developed their own locality specific knowledge on plant use, management and conservation.1 Therefore, the conservation of ethnobotanical knowledge became a part of living cultural knowledge and practices between communities and the environment which is essential for biodiversity conservation.2,3 However, this valuable traditional knowledge on utilization of plants was not documented and hence, most of the indigenous knowledge acquired by the local people has been passed on from generation to generation by the word of mouth.4-6 Such orally preserved information is liable to loss rather than conserved for future use, if left undocumented and in most cases some of the lore is lost at each point of transfer.2 According to world Health Organization those traditional medicinal plants were believed principally by more than 80% of the population in Africa.7 Hence, the need for systematic documentation of such a useful knowledge is nowadays accomplished through ethnobotanical research.1,2,8


INTRODUCTION
Over centuries, indigenous people have developed their own locality specific knowledge on plant use, management and conservation. 1 Therefore, the conservation of ethnobotanical knowledge became a part of living cultural knowledge and practices between communities and the environment which is essential for biodiversity conservation. 2,3 However, this valuable traditional knowledge on utilization of plants was not documented and hence, most of the indigenous knowledge acquired by the local people has been passed on from generation to generation by the word of mouth. [4][5][6] Such orally preserved information is liable to loss rather than conserved for future use, if left undocumented and in most cases some of the lore is lost at each point of transfer. 2 According to world Health Organization those traditional medicinal plants were believed principally by more than 80% of the population in Africa. 7 Hence, the need for systematic documentation of such a useful knowledge is nowadays accomplished through ethnobotanical research. 1,2,8 Although Ethiopia is endowed with multiethnic cultural diversity that has evolved within the milieus of diverse flora, medicinal plants have not been adequately studied, tested or documented. 9 As a result, much of the traditional medicinal plant resources and the associated knowledge has not been much documented and hence face the threat of erosion and loss. The Aleta Wondo people, like many other traditional groups of Ethiopia, practice traditional medicine to treat both human and livestock ailments, and acquired knowledge accumulated over centuries. This study therefore aims to investigate plant based traditional medicinal practices among the people of the study area by focusing on communities living in Aleta-Chuko Woreda of Sidama Zone, South Ethiopia. The purpose of this study is to document traditional medicinal plants species, management practices and the associated indigenous knowledge of the people in Aleta-Chuko Woreda, and to identify the major threats against these plants species in the study area.

The Study Area
The study was conducted in Aleta-Chuko Woreda, South Ethiopia, from October 2017 to May 2018. Aleta-Chuko Woreda is located in Sidama Zone, Southern Nation Nationalities people Regional State. Relative location: Aleta Chuko is bordered on the south by Dara, on the southwest by the Oromia Region, on the west by Lake Abaya, on the north by Dale, and on the east by Aleta Wendo (Figure 1). The administrative center is Chuko. Chuko was separated from Aleta Wendo woreda II. Aleta Chuko, in an absolute location, is found within 6460'-6720' N Latitude and 3820'-3856' E Longitude. The Woreda is situated 338 km south of Addis Ababa. The Woreda has an estimated area of 91,750.2 ha and it consists of 28 Kebeles. 10,11 Sampling and data collection Prior to the start of the actual study, a reconnaissance observation was carried out within the Aleta-Chuko Woreda to identify potential study sites, and ultimately decide on those deemed suitable for the objective of the present study. Selection of the Kebeles were based on the number (and/or distribution) of traditional healers within each Kebele of the study Woreda. Informants and knowledgeable traditional medicine practitioners were selected using purposive sampling approaches in the manner described by. 2 100 Respondents (85 males and 15 females; 20 Respondents from each of the 5 Kebeles) were selected in order to generate information through interviews and group discussions. The traditional healers were formally nominated by elders, local authorities, development agents and local Administrators.
Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and field observation were used to collect ethnobotanical data. Informants were interviewed individually in their local language, Sidamuu Affoo. Semi-structured interviews (SSI) were used to collect data on personal profiles of informants, as well as all necessary information on traditional medicinal plant species (e.g. ailments treated, parts used, etc.). Voucher Specimens were collected following the standard herbarium procedures and identifications were carried out using personal expertise and experience as well as using the published books series of different volumes (Volumes 1 to 7) of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

Data Analysis
The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and results were displayed by tables and graphs. Informant consensus, use value/relative importance and informant consensus factor were also computed. Simple linear correlation test was performed to assess the association between medicinal plant knowledge and age of informants as well as between medicinal plant knowledge and educational background of informants. Moreover, ranking and comparison techniques were also employed.

Informants' profile
Out of the 100 respondents interviewed in the study area, 85 were belong to male category and the remaining 15 respondents were female category. As far as the sex category of the respondents are concerned, the males are high number compare with females. It is primarily due to cultural influence prevailing in Aleta Chuko Woreda, where women were very much reluctant to meet the outsiders and hence, this, at least in part, accounts for the limited participation of the same during the study. Likewise, in similar studies 21,22 , males accounted for comparatively higher proportions out of the total respondents.
The age category ≥ 60 constituted the highest percentage (29%), followed by 50-59 (24%) and 40-49 (22%). On the contrary, the age groups 20-29 and 30-39 were represented by the lowest number of respondents (Table 1). Nonetheless, the size of every category of age corresponds to considerable fraction (≥ 11%) of the total number of respondents. Comparable distribution of informants in age categories was conducted by 23 , in his ethnobotanical investigation of Konta special woreda, SNNPRS, Ethiopia.
As regards to educational background, the majority (59%) of the respondents were illiterate, while 33%, 5%, and 3% of the informants had primary, secondary and above secondary education respectively. Although most of the participants were illiterate which coincided mainly with age group above 40, they are generally considered as important repository of traditional medicinal knowledge (Table 1).

Distribution, Diversity and Therapeutic Worths of Medicinal Plants in the Studyarea
A total number of 53 medicinal plant species distributed over 30 plant families and 49 genera, were recorded in this study in Aleta Chuko Woreda. Among these plant families, Lamiaceae represented by the highest species (8) followed by Rutaceae (5), Asteraceae (4), Rosaceae (3), Fabaceae (3) and Solanaceae (3). While Myrtaceae, Oleaceae, and Boraginaceae had two species each, the remaining 21 families were represented by single species (Table 2). 24 , also reported that the family Lamiaceae had highest number of species represented by (19). Similarly, 23 reported that Lamiaceae and Asteraceae were the second and third most important families containing high number of medicinal plant species in Konta special woreda, SNNPRS, Ethiopia. 25   knowledge on medicinal practices for their therapeutic effects against different ailments in the study area.

Medicinal plant species used for humans, livestock and both health problems
Out of the total 53 medicinal plant species recorded in this study, the majority (79%) of medicinal plant species were used to treat 81 human diseases, while 11% of the same were used to treat 11 livestock ailments and 10% for both ( Figure 2 and Table 3).
In line with the present study, a number of studies 23,25,[27][28][29][30][31] , reported that most of the medicinal plants are commonly used for the treatment of human ailments than therapeutic applications of medicinal plants that are intended to relieve illness or injury of livestock.

Health problems identified in the study area
On the other hand, the most common Human and Livestock Diseases in Aleta Chuko Woreda are indicated in Table 4. The most common human ailment was Stomachache followed by headache, wound, and common cold. Conversely, important livestock diseases reported in the study area are cough, poor milk yield, and stomachache ( Table 4).
As 30 , pointed out that the traditional healers in the study area were knowledgeable of diseases and medicinal plants used to treat them.

Source habitats of traditional medicinal plant species
The majority i.e., 32 (60%) of the medicinal plant species were collected from the wild (natural and semi-natural habitats), whereas the remaining 21 (40%) were collected from home-gardens. Our study was found to have similarity with 21

Habits of the medicinal plants
The assessment on the habits of the medicinal plants depicted that Herbs constituted the highest fraction (34%) of the total species collected closely followed by both Shrubs and Trees (32%). Conversely, climbers accounted for only a tiny fraction (2%) of medicinal plants assayed under the present study ( Figure 3). Saving climbers 35

Percentage and frequencies of used parts of the plants
The results showed that the most dominant plant parts used during the preparation of curatives were leaves (49.2%) followed by roots, fruits, and seeds (9.2% each) (Figure 4). In agreement with the present study, several ethnobotanical investigations 22,25,30,34,[37][38][39][40] , carried out in different parts of Ethiopia and elsewhere across the globe 41,42 , reported that leaves were the most utilized plant part in the preparation of remedies of plant origin. Whereas, studies found that roots were the most widely used plant parts in the preparation of traditional curatives. 27,32,43,44 29 ,indicated that the widespread usage of leaf in the preparation of remedies may possibly depict the comparative ease of harvesting/ collecting this plant part. Moreover, as to 21 , the preference of leaves over other plant parts could be attributable to the simplicity of remedial preparations compared to remedy preparations from roots, stem barks, whole plants and seeds. Accordingly, collecting leaves do not pose a greater danger to the existence of an individual plant as compared with the collection of roots, barks, stems or whole plants and hence do not

FOR BOTH HUMANS AND LIVESTOCKS
affect sustainable utilization of the plants. 30 , pointed that the use of leaves than roots, barks, stems and whole plant minimize the threat to the destruction of medicinal plants. Stems, and flowers accounted for 7.7 and 4.6%, respectively, while sap, leaf and seed each constituted for 3.1% of the total preparations. The bark, bulb, and a combination of stem and root contributed for the remaining fraction (4.5%) of the preparation of the therapeutics (Figure 4).

Modes of preparation of medicinal plants
According to the informants of the study area, medicinal plants were formulated in the fresh forms 66% while 18% were prepared after drying. On the other hand, 16% of the remedies were reported to be used in either fresh or dry forms to treat human and livestock ailments. In agreement with the present study, similar studies 29,30,34,33,37,39 , reported in their ethnobotanical investigation that high proportions of the respective medicinal plants were used in fresh form during curative preparations. In a line with 29 , the common use of freshly processed remedies may signify the availability of comparatively good stock of plant materials in the study area that could be collected whenever the need arises. 30 , reported that widely held belief by local people that fresh materials are efficacious in treatment over their dry counterparts as the active ingredients. Similarly 29 , suggested that the frequent use of fresh materials could proceed from an effort not to lose volatile oils, the concentration of which could deteriorate during drying.

Methods of preparations of remedies from medicinal plants: Frequency and percentages
The dominant methods of preparations were pounding and crushing (42.3%) followed by chewing (19.2%) and squeezing (14.1%) for the treatment of various diseases affecting humans and their stock in the study area. On the other hand, principally powdering (6.5%) but also maceration and decoction (each with 9%), were the least employed method during preparation of the curatives from medicinal plants ( Table 5). Similar findings about crushing and pounding as the predominant method of medicinal preparations were also reported by. 34,37 Apart from this 38 , indicated that the principal methods of remedy preparation were crushing (37.31%), squeezing (29.85%) and powdering (16.42%) of the various parts of medicinal plants.

Dosage measurement of medicinal preparations
In Aleta Chuko Woreda, traditional medicine practitioners employ various measurement units and durations to determine the dosage of curatives. The amounts of remedy and prescription rates were generally dependent on the degree and duration of the ailments. The data obtained from respondents revealed that traditional medicines dosage were employed by various units of measurement like numbers (e.g. for leaves, seeds and fruits), pinch (e.g. for powdered plant parts) and finger length (e.g. for root, root bark, stem and stem bark) to estimate and fix the measured quantity of the medicine which depends on the perception of healers/herbalists. Similar findings pertaining to the traditional medicinal dosage were reported by. 25,33,45,46 In congruence with similar studies 25,27 , most of the medicinal plant preparations given did not have standardized doses. Accordingly, in most cases dosages were determined according to the age and physical appearance of the patient, sociocultural explanation of the illness, diagnosis and experience of individual traditional medicine practitioner. 45

Routes of applications/administration of the plant remedies
The results of the study revealed that oral application (70.5%) was the most widely used route of administration followed by dermal or topical (20.5%), and nasal (7.7%) routes ( Figure 5). The present findings is in accordance with study of. 37 The reason for the dominance of oral application of remedies may be due to it is painless and unproblematic way of taking the medicines. On the other hand, ocular route accounted only for about a percent of the total reported administration route. Likewise 45 , found that ocular application of traditional remedies was the least (accounting only for 2.1%) of all employed administration routes.

Relationships between the ages of informants and their knowledge of traditional medicinal plants
Pearson Correlation analysis revealed that age of informants and the knowledge of traditional medicinal plants were positively correlated, r = 0.74812 ( Figure 6). Thus, elderly people have more knowledge of traditional medicine and traditional medicinal plant species than the youngsters. In agreement with the present study, various studies 25,33,45,46 , reported that as people become older and older their knowledge of traditional medicine would essentially become better and better. On the other hand, the relatively lower medicinal plant knowledge exhibited by the more youthful segment of the community could stem from the relative difficulty in its transfer from the elders to the young generation. 23

Relationships between the educational levels of informants and their knowledge of traditional medicinal plants
In order to assess the relationship between educational background of respondents and the number of medicinal plants they have managed to report, Pearson Correlation was carried out (Figure 7). Accordingly, there is a negative correlation between educational background and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants of the study area (r = -0.87029). 47 also reported that there is a negative relationship between the educational level of informants and their ethnobotanic knowledge.

CONCLUSION
The present study was conducted in selected Kebeles of Aleta Chuko Woreda in order to assess the indigenous knowledge that equips the community to identify the medicinal plants, formulate the medicines and subsequently administer the curatives used to treat various human and livestock diseases, as well as to characterize the threats that the medicinal plants are facing in the study area. The study revealed that the Aleta Chuko community observably used traditional medicine to treat both human and livestock diseases.
A total of 53 wild and cultivated medicinal plant species which are herbs, shrub and tree species distributed into 30 families and 49 genera. Lamiaceae (8) followed by Rutaceae (5), and Asteraceae (4) were the predominant families observed. 79, 11, and 10% of the total species were used for treating humans, livestock, and both humans and livestock diseases, respectively. The most common diseases affecting humans and animals were stomachache and cough, in that order. Sixty percent of the medicinal plants were collected from the wild while the 40% of the same were harvested from home gardens. Herbs constituted the highest fraction (34%) of the total species and the most commonly used plant parts during the preparation of remedies were leaves. Freshly harvested plant materials are mostly used in the preparation of remedies which show about the availability of plant materials in the vicinity.
Our study recommends that the attention should be given to the standardization of the unit measurement, antidotes and cleanliness of these medicines prepared from plants by improving the traditional medicines and creating awareness among the younger members of the community on the importance and conservation of traditional medicinal plant species and the associated indigenous knowledge which is the need of the hour. Finally, further scientific investigations are to be initiated for the isolation of the bioactive principles from those traditional medicinal plant species reported to be the most effective way to treat the most common health problems of the study area.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors' sincere thanks go to Arba Minch University for provision of the opportunity to conduct the research. Authors also like to express their gratitude for Aleto Chuko Woreda people and staffs for their cooperation in providing basic information.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
TG and BC conceived and designed the study. TG analyzed the data. TG and BC contributed to the writing of the manuscript. TG and BC