Preprint / Version 1

Keeping Healthy in Your Skin—Plants and Fungi Used by Indigenous Himalayan Communities to Treat Dermatological Ailments

Authors

  • Shiekh Haq Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Georgia
  • Aadil Khoja Department of Botany, Glocal University Saharanpur, Saharanpur 247121, India
  • Fayaz Lone Department of Botany, Government Degree College (Women), Kupwara 193222, India
  • Muhammad Waheed Department of Botany, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan
  • Rainer Bussmann Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Georgia
  • Ryan Casini School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
  • Eman Mahmoud Department of Food Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta 34511, Egypt
  • Hosam Elansary Department of Plant Production, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Keywords:

dermatology, ethnomedicine, wound healing, traditional knowledge

Abstract

Dermatological ailments are a major health problem, especially when related to human immune deficiency syndrome and acquired immune deficiency. The goal of this study was to identify the medicinal plants used by the indigenous peoples of the Northwestern Himalayas to treat dermatological diseases. Several field trips were conducted in the spring and summer seasons of 2020–2021 to collect the plants of dermatological value and information about their use through open-ended semi-structured interviews (n = 53) and group discussions (n = 33). The current investigation found 64 ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 34 families commonly used to treat a variety of dermatological ailments. The main growth form was herbs (80%), followed by trees (8%) and ferns (6%). It was found that leaves (51%) were the most commonly used plant part, followed by roots and the whole plant. Wound healing was the most dominant application, with 18 plant species used, followed by skin burns cured by 11 plant species and skin boils by eight plant species. Out of the total (18%) of medicinal plants with cosmetic uses, i.e., roots of Jurinea dolomiaea, Rheum webbianum, and Rheum spiciforme were crushed into powder and mixed with turmeric, and the paste is applied topically for glowing skin. Among the various preparation methods, paste (38%) was the most common way of preparation, followed by poultice (29%) and infusion (9%). Between ethnic groups, the maximum homogeneity was between Gujjar and Bakarwal ethnic groups (23 species, 36%), followed by Gujjars and Kashmiri (14 species, 22%). Bakarwals and Gujjar people live in the same geographical location, and they graze their animals in pastures, practice extensive transhumance pastoralism, and pass through different ecological landscapes, thus having sufficient experiences with certain plants and retaining more knowledge. The species identified with the highest utilization based on the number of citations and use value included Ficus carica, Cichorium intybus, Euphorbia wallichii, Pinus wallichiana, Plantago major, Jurinea dolomiaea, and Artemisia absinthium. The findings of this study demonstrate that people who reside in the Northwestern Himalayas region still rely on medicinal plants. Keywords: dermatology, ethnomedicine, wound healing, traditional knowledge

Author Biographies

Shiekh Haq, Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Georgia

Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft

Aadil Khoja, Department of Botany, Glocal University Saharanpur, Saharanpur 247121, India

Software, Validation

Fayaz Lone, Department of Botany, Government Degree College (Women), Kupwara 193222, India

Formal analysis, Investigation

Muhammad Waheed, Department of Botany, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan

Software, Formal analysis, Data curation

Rainer Bussmann, Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Georgia

Investigation, Writing – review & editing

Ryan Casini, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

Formal analysis, Investigation

Eman Mahmoud, Department of Food Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta 34511, Egypt

Resources, Project administration

Hosam Elansary, Department of Plant Production, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision

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