Ethnomedicinal study of animals and plants used by Agusanon Manobo in La Paz, Agusan del Sur, Philippines

Abstract

This study documented the ethnomedicinal use of plants and animals by the Agusanon Manobo in La Paz, Agusan del Sur. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information from 50 informants between the ages of 25-80 years old from two different barangays. The most commonly used medicinal animals were determined using fidelity level (FL) and informant consensus factor (ICF). The medicinal plant species having local importance was determined using the relative frequency of citation (RFC). Ten species of medicinal animals from ten families have been documented during the survey. The most commonly used animals are Malayophyton reticulatus (baksan) was used to cure digestive system related ailments, the most preferred animal part to be used is the bile. A total of 39 species with medicinal values were documented for ethnomedicinal plants, there were 27 plant families noted, and mostly from Lamiaceae. Leaves were widely used plant parts and decoction was the most common way of preparation that is administered orally. The ethnomedicanal plants reported having highest RFC values
is Artemisia vulgaris (hilbas) used for treating respiratory related ailments. It was also mentioned by the Agusanon Manobo that there was no side effects on taking medicinal animals and plants thus, advance scientific investigation is needed to further validate the pharmacological effects and active components present in these medicinal animals and plants.