Medicinal plants used by the local communities of Sitio Lomboyan, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, Philippines

Abstract

The Higaonon tribe is known to coexist with non-Higaonon residents in Sitio Lomboyan, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte (ADN), and this interaction may result in sharing of traditional medicinal practices within the locality. This study aimed to determine the medicinal knowledge of residents in Sitio Lomboyan, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista, ADN. There are 120 respondents who participated in this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information on the different medicinal plants (MP) and practices used by Higaonon and non-Higaonon in the community. A total of 125 species belonging to 52 families were recorded as plants with medicinal importance, where 68 (54.40%) were commonly used by the two groups. The largest number of MP came from the family Fabaceae. Leaves were the most widely used plant part that was prepared through decoction and administered orally. Cough was the most common ailment treated by the MP. Based on the relative frequency of citation (RFC), Blumea balsamifera (0.41) and Origanum vulgare (0.38) had the highest RFC values. Diarrhea, relapse, stomachache, flatulence, urinary tract infection, fever, high blood pressure, and cough are highly connected to the plant species in the inter-network analysis. Analysis of similarities revealed question: specify extent of similarities bet 2 groups of herbal medicines used by the two groups (R=0.051). The present study provides an in-depth inventory of MP used by Higaonon and non-Higaonon residents in Sitio Lomboyan, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista, ADN.