An Ethnobotanical and Ethnomedicinal Investigation of Phytomedical Knowledge and Practice of Medicinal Plants in Lingchuan County, Shanxi, China

Abstract BackgroundLingchuan County is the main producing area of Chinese medicinal materials in Shanxi Province, rich in medicinal plant resources. The aboriginal residents of Lingchuan County have certain traditional knowledge and experience in the use of medicinal plants and can effectively use medicinal plants to treat common diseases. MethodologyA field survey in 53 villages was carried out over one year, i.e., November 2017—August 2018. Ethnomedicinal data was collected through designed questionaries/interviews by involving 180 informants familiar with medicinal plants utilization. Documented data were evaluated using the quantitative indices. ResultsA total of 138 traditional medicinal plants were investigated, belonging to 123 genera of 60 families. Among them, Asteraceae was the dominant plant family with 19 species. Roots were the most commonly used plant parts, and the dominant life form was herbs. Quantitative analysis revealed that Forsythia suspensa was with higher (0.33) RFC value, and Scutellaria baicalensis was recorded with higher (0.91) UV. Treated diseases were categorized in 12 groups and evaluated by their FIC value, in which gynecological diseases having higher (0.93) FIC value followed by urinary system diseases. The most medicinal plants are used to clear away heat and relieve the surface. At the same time, people use boiled water to use medicinal plants. Most of the plants investigated are non-toxic. ConclusionThis study reported traditional herbal medicines for the first time to be used against various disorders in Lingchuan County, China and are still practiced by the local communities. Some of the new ethnobotanical claims documented in this investigation should need to be further explored clinically. The medicinal plants with the highest use values recorded in this study may signpost the probable existence of valuable phytochemical compounds that requires a search for prospective new drugs to cure many human disorders.