Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants and its Economic importance in Dalomana district, Southeastern Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out March 25 to September 5, 2021, in Dalomana district of Oromia region, Ethiopia. The study focused on documentation of medicinal plants used to treat various human diseases in the study area. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semistructured interviews, group discussion, guided field walks, and observations with participants. Preference ranking, paired comparison, direct matrix ranking, and informant consensus factors (ICF) were used to analyze the importance of some plant species. A total of 93 medicinal plants, distributed in 31 families, 59 genera and 5 of them are unknown were collected and identified. Plant family with the highest medicinal plants in the study area used for various diseases treatment was Fabaceae 10 (10.8 %) followed by Euphorbaieae 6 (6.5%). The result of growth form analysis showed that shrubs constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants (48.6%). Roots (48.9%) were the most frequently utilized plant parts for preparation of traditional herbal medicines. Crushing was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies where oral administration (37.5%) was the dominant route. The highest informants consensus factor (ICF) values were linked to eye disease (0.66); the lowest was linked with external parasites and wound (0.21). Local people in the study area possess traditional knowledge of medicinal plants to treat various human ailments; however, agricultural expansion and disinterest of young generation became the major threat to medicinal plants. In this study area the total benefits (profits) from the traditional healer practices is estimated to be 237542 birr annually generated as income. It is, therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, and herbal preparation. To save medicinal plants from further loss, involving local communities in cultivation of the most utilized medicinal plants is recommended. keywords: Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Threat, Conservation