ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY PEOPLE OF GECHI DISTRICT, BUNO BEDELE ZONE OF OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA

The study of indigenous knowledge on utilization of plants as source of medicine is important to conserve useful plants and preserve indigenous knowledge for next generation. Around 80 % of Ethiopian people are estimated to be relying on medicinal plants for the treatment of human and cattle diseases.In Ethiopia many researches have done on ethnobotany based on indigenous knowledge, but there is a place where no ethnobotanical study has been done. This study was conducted in Gechi woreda that has relatively better plant resources and hence, potentially associated knowledge on plant use for medicinal purposes.The purpose of this study was to collect, identify and document ethnomedicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge of communities in Gechi woreda. The study was conducted in Gechi district, Buno Bedele zone of Oromia region, Ethiopia. A total of 100 informants (age≥20) were selected from three sampled kebeles, of these 16 key informants (Female 2 and Male14) were selected purposively while 84 of non practitioners ( Female 42 and Male 42) were selected randomly. Ethnobotanical data were obtained using semi structured interviews, field observation and focus group discussion with local people and traditional medicine practitioners. Ethnomedicinal uses of 70 plant species from 61 genera and 36 families were documented. Majority of the plants (83.7%) were used to treat human ailments. From the total medicinal plant species, 32.9 % were shrub species followed by herbs (31.4 %) and tree species (25.7%). The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (42.3%) followed by roots, and the most widely used method of preparations were crushing (smashing or grinding) of the different plant parts and squeezing.The ways of administration showed that remedies were applied through different routes, of which oral administration (56%) was reported as the most dominant route of administration followed by dermal route administration (29.6%). Disease categories such as problems of the genitourinary system (0.75), sensory organ (0.66) and respiratory system (0.63) had the highest informant consensus factor valuessuggesting high agreement of people on their remedies.Indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants was found to be affected by gender, age and educational level.In order to conserve substantial amount of medicinal plants and knowledge, local people must be taught about the importance of growing medicinal plants in home gardens mixing with crops and encouraging people to protect and enclose ritual and spiritual areas with higher distribution of medicinal plants in the locality.