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Ethnobotanical Aspects of Some Traditional Medicinal Plants

  • Iftikhar Ahmad
  • Muhammad Sajid Aqeel Ahmad
  • Mumtaz Hussain
  • Mansoor Hameed
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Microorganisms for Sustainability book series (MICRO, volume 15)

Abstract

Ethnobotany (study of usage of plant parts for human health) is considered to be a part of Economic Botany, which emphasizes on the economic utilization of plants for human welfare. Biological diversity is universally recognized as an important part of the world’s natural heritage and an essential component for the sustainability of global ecosystems. In the current era, modern allopathic medicines are very fast effective and have over-ridden the traditional herbal remedies. Additionally, the diversity of traditional medicinal plants is facing a continuous decline due to a number of natural and anthropogenic activities including the clear-cutting of forests, conversion of grasslands into cultivated lands, industrialization, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, etc. Similarly, overexploitation also poses a severe threat to diversity of medicinal plants and has led to decline severely a number of species. It should be recognized that plant diversity has a commendable importance as a source of pharmaceutically active substances. In this chapter, the medicinal value and usage of various medicinal plants typically used in traditional medicine have been discussed.

Keywords

Medicinal plants Diversity Active ingredients Soon Valley Salt Range 
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Notes

Acknowledgment

This book chapter has been extracted form “Review of Literature” section presented in the Ph.D. thesis of Iftikhar Ahmad (89-ag-1513) submitted to University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in 2008. A partial material has also been drawn from the article “WORLD IS TURNING BACK TO NATURAL MEDICINES: Past, present and future of medicinal plants” published as a new article by the same author(s).

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Copyright information

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  • Iftikhar Ahmad
    • 1
  • Muhammad Sajid Aqeel Ahmad
    • 2
  • Mumtaz Hussain
    • 2
  • Mansoor Hameed
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Botany SciencesUniversity of SargodhaSargodhaPakistan
  2. 2.Department of BotanyUniversity of AgricultureFaisalabadPakistan

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