Author’s Accepted Manuscript Use of medicinally important wild edible vegetable species by tribal communities of the northern Balochistan, Pakistan Tahira Bibi, Mushtaq Ahmad, Niaz Mohammad Tareen, Rukhsana Jabeen, Shazia Sultana, Muhammad Zafar, Sheikh Zain-ul-Abidin www.elsevier.com/locate/jep

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S0378-8741(15)30015-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.06.050 JEP9612

To appear in: Journal of Ethnopharmacology Received date: 30 March 2015 Revised date: 25 June 2015 Accepted date: 30 June 2015 Cite this article as: Tahira Bibi, Mushtaq Ahmad, Niaz Mohammad Tareen, Rukhsana Jabeen, Shazia Sultana, Muhammad Zafar and Sheikh Zain-ul-Abidin, Use of medicinally important wild edible vegetable species by tribal communities of the northern Balochistan, Pakistan, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.06.050 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Use of medicinally important wild edible vegetable species by tribal communities of the northern Balochistan, Pakistan Tahira Bibi a,b*, Mushtaq Ahmad a,, Niaz Mohammad Tareenc,d, Rukhsana Jabeenb, Shazia Sultanaa, Muhammad Zafar a and Sheikh Zain-ul-Abidin a a

b

Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islmabd, Pakistan Department of Plant Sciences, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University Quetta, Pakistan c Department of Botany, University of Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan d Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Centre Quetta, Pakistan

Corresponding Author: Dr. Tahira Bibi, Ph.D Corresponding Author's Institution: 1. Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University

Islmabd, Pakistan 2. Department of Plant Sciences, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University Quetta, Pakistan Phone No. +923327909516 Email: [email protected]

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: The highlands of Northern Balochistan are the hot spots of medicinal and endemic plant in Pakistan. These plants are still commonly used for medicinal purposes by local people in their daily lives. This study first documented the information about the medicinal uses of endemic species of Balochistan-province Pakistan. Materials and methods: A survey was performed using open ended questionnaires, free listening and personal observations with 152 informants (54% female, 46% male). In addition, the use value (MUV), use report (UR), fidelity level (FL), frequency citation (FC), relative frequency citation (RFC), family importance value (FIV) of species were determined and the informant consensus factor (ICF) was calculated for the medicinal plants included in the study. Results: A total of 24 endemic plants belonging to 19 genera and 14 families were used by the local inhabitants to treat 12 categories of various diseases. The most common families of endemic plant species as depicted by its number of species (6 species) and FIV (9.9) was Fabaceae as the dominant family. The endemic plant species comprised perennial herbs (30%), annual herbs (25%), shrubs (29%) and under shrubs (16% each), no endemic tree species was reported in the study area. The highest number of species were used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases (12 species). The main route of administration is oral injection (62%)

while the most frequently used form of external administration of herbal medicine was paste (5.4%) and the most commonly applied methods of preparation are powder (48.2%). Highest use report were calculated for Allium baluchistanicum and Viola makranica, (8 UR each), and least use report were calculated for two species Heliotropium remotiflorum and Tetracme stocksii (1 UR for each). Use values of the recorded plant species have been calculated which showed a highest use value of (0.73) for Allium baluchistanicum and (0.56) for Berberis baluchistanica while the lowest UVs were attained for Tetracme stocksii (0.13). Highest RFC value were calculated for Achillea millefolium (0.19) and least RFC were calculated for Blepharis sindica (0.02). The endemic species with 100% fidelity level was calculated for two plant species i.e. Seriphidium quettense and Berberis baluchistanica. Conclusions: The Balochistan is rich in endemic and other medicinal plants, still needs more exploration and study. Thus, it is important to document and reconstitute the remainders of the ancient medical practices which exist in Balochistan and other areas of the world, and preserve this knowledge for future generations. The endemic species which are used in traditional medicine in the region lacks phototherapeutic evidence. It is necessary to perform phytochemical or pharmacological studies to explore the potential of plants used for medicinal purposes. Overgrazing, urbanization and unsustainable harvesting of such rare and endemic medicinal plants in this region is facing severe threats of extinction. It is thus recommended that cultivation techniques be formulated, especially for the most important endemic plant medicinal species of the region. Key words: Endemic, Northern Balochistan, Pakistan, Traditional medicine, Medicinal plants 1. Introduction Pakistan has a unique biodiversity, having nine major ecological zones. Due to its unique climate, the country is very rich in medicinal and endemic plants distributed in its large area. The highlands of Northern Balochistan are the hot spots of medicinal and endemic plant in Pakistan A total of 1572 genera and 5521 species of flowering plants are identified in Pakistan, out of which 400–600 are medicinally important. About 400 species are endemic to Pakistan (Ali, 2008) from these, about 80% of the endemic flowering plants are confined to the northern and western mountains of Pakistan and Kashmir (Ali, 2008). Beside Sino Japanese region of

Kashmir and northern Areas of Pakistan, Northern Baluchistan is at third position regarding the number of endemic taxa (Ali and Qaiser, 1986). Hence, the biodiversity of northern Balochistan has been well known as an important source of traditional medicines since millions of years and has been explored by people from across the world. It is one of the major centers for cultural and traditional diversity, herbal medicines and rich floristic wealth including many endemic and rare plants. The rural communities of the Balochistan are very much dependent on biological resources for their sustenance. Among these rural communities, medicinal plants seem to be the most appropriate solution for many of the health issues (Jamal et al., 2012). Traditionally all herbal preparations were derived from plants, either as simple form of plant parts or complex form of crude extracts, blends, etc. The primary paybacks of using plant derived medicines are considered to be relatively harmless than synthetic substitutes, offering profound therapeutic benefits. Although indigenous knowledge about medicinal uses of plant have been recorded widely all over the world (Ratnam and Raju, 2008; Jamila and Mostafa, 2014); Ngarivhume et al., 2015 Bolson et al.; 2015), in Pakistan (Qureshi , 2012; Abbasi et al., 2013; Ahmad et al., 2014, and Bibi et al., 2014; Kayani et al., 2015; Rehman et al., 2015) but medicinal uses of endemic plant species in the study area has never been explored before, and in this regard the present study can be considered as the first one which deals with an ethnomedicinal study on endemic plants not only in Balochistan province but in Pakistan. In addition to this, most of the endemic plant diversity is only limited to the highlands of northern Balochistan and having a very narrow geographic distribution, because of their limited geographic distribution and any unfavorable change in the habitat might hinder their whole population as a result the taxon may face the process of extinction (Callmander et al., 2005). With the extinction of these rare endemic species the traditional knowledge related with the species automatically will disappear. Therefore, there is dire need of conservation of endemic species as well as conservation of traditional knowledge related to these plants. Due to this, it was felt worthwhile to record the folk knowledge of medicinal plants used by the inhabitants of Balochistan. 2. Methodology 2.1. Geo-ethnographical overview

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan in size and smallest in population. It covers almost 44% of the country’s land area i.e. 34.7 million hectares. . Physically, Balochistan is an extensive plateau of rough terrain divided into basins by ranges of sufficient heights and ruggedness. Broadly, Balochistan geographic area can be divided in to four distinct zones: Upper high lands, lower high lands, plains, and deserts. The upper highlands, known locally as Khorasan, rise as high as 3,700 meters, with valley floors about 1,500 meters above sea levels. The highlands include Makran, Kharan and Chaghi ranges in the West and Sulaiman, Pab, Kirther in the east. The Upper High Lands fall mainly in districts Zhob, Killa Saifullah, Pishin, Quetta, Ziarat and Kalat. It comprises a number of ranges such as Sulaiman, Toba Kakari, Murdar, Zarghoon, Takatu, and Chiltan ranges. The Lower High Lands have an altitude ranging from 1970 to 3940 ft (600 to 1200 M). They are located in the south-eastern Balochistan, except eastern part of Kachi, the southern end of Dera Bugti and Nasirabad districts. Some are extension of lower high lands that exist at boundaries of Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Kharan and Chaghi districts. Balochistan has relatively small area of plains as compared to its total land area. They include the Kachi plain, situated to the south of Sibi and extending into Nasirabad Division, the southern part of Dera Bugti district, and narrow plain area along the Mekran coast stretching from Kachi to the Iranian border. The plains of Kachi, Las Bela and that of river Dasht cover sizeable area. Mountains dominate the terrain, and valley floors, and piedmont plain make up only 15% of the landscape. The western part of the province, mostly in Kharan and Chaghi districts, consists of vast plains covered with black gravel surface and broad expanses of sand dunes. The coastal-line is about 760 Kilometers long, with a number of peninsulas and promontories. The coastal area is not effectively connected with the interior; the steep hills rise abruptly beyond the narrow coastal plain. Ports, such as Somiani, Pasni and Gwadar are unsheltered. Federal and provincial governments have comprehensive development plans that feature a deep sea port at Gwadar and a coastal highway. The climate of Balochistan is continental semiarid Mediterranean, with annual precipitation varying from 200 to 350 mm and a variable proportion of this total fall as moisture of snow and rain in the mid-winter period or as intense showers in summer. The uniform aridity (nowhere exceeding 400 mm on average annually, but in many parts as low as 50 mm annually) makes un-irrigated agriculture impossible. Average annual precipitation in Balochistan varies from 2 to 20 inches (50 to 500 mm). Maximum precipitation falls in the northeastern areas with annual average rain fall ranging

from 8 to 20 inches (200 to 500 mm). It decreases in the south and the eastern parts and is minimum in Naukundi. Kharan and Dalbandin area, rainfall ranges between 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50mm). Evaporation rates are higher than the precipitation and generally vary from 72 to 76 inches (1830 1930 mm) per annum (PDMA Balochistan, 2012), (Fig 1). The Brahui and Pashto is used primarily in speech in upper Balochistan, Particularly, we find a large brahvi population in the Noshki, Kalat and Mastung, while Ziarat, Harnai and Zhob were dominated by pashtoons and Quetta city is mixed of Pashtoons, Brahvi and other ethnic groups like Urdu, Balochi, Dehwari, Hindko, Persian, Punjabi and Sindhi. The Balochi language in coastal areas of Balochistan, while Sindhi and Lasi is dominant in Kachi and Las Bela, Sibi and Nasir Abad division. All ethnic groups residing in the province commonly speak Urdu with each other for communication. (Anon, 2011). 2.2. Hot Spots Ziarat Juniper Forests and Hazarganji Chiltan national park are the hot spots of the Balochistan. As a consequence to deforestation and changing land use patterns, the most critically affected ecosystems of Balochistan is Juniper Forests of northern Balochistan, essentially categorized as Protected Forests, is heavily harvested for timber and fuelwood. The unrestricted grazing has further hampered the natural regeneration of trees. 2.3. Socio economic conditions of the area The Balochistan has blessed with diverse flora including a great number of medicinal plants. The rural areas of the Balochistan are still dependent on medicinal plants for their health care because of lack of health centers in the area. Agriculture is the major earning means of the people in the region. Nearly 50% of the population of Balochistan depends on Agriculture. If the sustainable use of wild flora and cultivation of medicinal plants are promoted in the area this will strongly effect on the socio economic condition of the local inhabitants. 2.4. Field Interviews The information was collected through free listing interviews with randomly selected informants and field interviews with key informants selected after free listing (Ghorbani et al., 2011). The questionnaire was mainly focused on the ethnomedicinal uses of endemic plants by local communities and nearby people. The interviews were conducted using the local language

(Brahui, pashto and Urdu). Mrs. Tahira Bibi and Niaz Muhammad was aware with the local languages of the study area which permits the accuracy in data recordings. For the ethnomedicinal information, a total of 152 inhabitants (133 local people, 19 herbalists) of different areas of different age groups, gender, (Table

1) with respect to the medicinal use

of endemic plants. The number of informants for a species mentioning its uses was assessed and categorized (Amiguet et al., 2005; Cook, 1995). Information on vernacular names, medicinal application, herbal part(s) as pharmacological agent and mode of administration were recorded and presented with details in Table 2. 2.5. Collection, Identification and deposition of medicinal plants Iinformation about the medicinal uses of endemic plants in northern (upper Balochistan) fourteen indigenous towns/villages and cities in northern Balochistan i.e. (Ziarat, Kalat, Quetta, Zhob, Zarghon, Harnai, Duki, Killa Saifullah, Loralai, Bostan, Khanozai, Nichara, Muslim Bagh and Hazar ganji) and two areas from coastal regions (Lasbela, Makran) were surveyed (Fig. 1) and collected plants during (2014 to 2015).The collected plant specimens were dried, preserved and processed as per routine herbarium techniques recommended by Jain and Rao (1977). For authentic identification the Flora of Pakistan (Nasir and Ali (Eds.) 1970-1979; Nasir. and Ali. (Eds.) 1980-1989; Ali and Nasir, 1989-1991; Ali and Qaiser, 1993-2007) have been consulted. Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of Department of Plant Sciences Quaid-iAzam University Islamabad. 2.6. Demographic information Demographic physiognomies of the informants were determined and documented through faceto face conversations. All the men informants were interviewed in the field and Baithaks (male meeting places) while women informants were interviewed at their homes. Nineteen herbalists (local healers) were also interviewed to assert the current status of folk knowledge in the study area. 2.7. Quantitative analysis of data The data was tabulated and analyzed using four quantitative ethnobotanical indices: Use value (UV), Use reports (UR), family importance value (FIV) and Informant consensus factor (ICF).

2.7.1. Medicinal Use value (MUV) and Use reports The MUV was obtained by the following formula proposed by (Tardío and Pardo-deSantayana, (2008) and Savikin et al., (2013). MUV is actually modification of the Use Value (UV). The medicinal use value was calculated with little modification. It is a good measure to estimate all the possible uses of a plant species without considering its RFC. It gives us the relative importance of a species, considering the number of uses mentioned by an informant for a particular wild medicinal plant species. It was calculated using the following formula: MUV= ΣMUi/N Where ‘MU’ is the number of mentioned medicinal uses cited by each informant for a given plant species and ‘N’ is the total number of informants included in the survey. MUV is generally high i.e., near (1) if the number uses are high and near (0) if the use reports for a species is considerably low. MUV does not provide any information on the single or multiple uses of species. While use report (UR) is the use recorded for every species. 2.7.2. Frequency of citation (FC), Relative frequency of citation (RFC) Family importance value index (FIV) FIV and RFC were calculated to quantitatively determine the consensus between the informants on the use of endemic medicinal plants in the region. It was calculated using the following formula proposed by Vitalini et al. (2013), RFC =FC/N (0