Preprint / Version 1

Wild Edible Fruits as a Source of Food and Medicine: A Study among Tribal Communities of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Authors

  • Sheikh Abidin Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)
  • Wahidah Al-Qahtani Department of Food Sciences & Nutrition, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected]
  • Asma Saeed Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)
  • Jabbar Khan Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)
  • Asad Ullah Centre of Plant Biodiversity, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan; [email protected]
  • Muhammad Zafar Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (M.Z.)
  • Alain Cuerrier Biological Sciences Department, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, Canada; [email protected]
  • Mushtaq Ahmad Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (M.Z.)
  • Raees Khan National Herbarium, National Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan Agricultural Research, Council, Islamabad 45500, Pakistan
  • Mohsin Kazi Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected]

Keywords:

edible wild fruits, food security, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nutraceutical, quantitative ethnobotanical indices (QEI), relative frequency citation (RFC), use value (UV)

Abstract

Botanical surveys in all parts of Pakistan are mainly focused on ethnomedicinal uses of plants, and very little attention has been paid to documenting edible wild fruit species (EWFs). Multiple methodologies and tools were used for data collection. In a recent survey 74 EWF species belonging to 29 families were documented, including their medicinal uses for the treatment of various diseases. The most cited (23%) preparation method was raw, fresh parts. The UV and RFC of EWF species ranged from 0.08 to 0.4 and from 0.02 to 0.18, respectively. In terms of specific disease treatments and their consensus, the ICF ranged from 0 to 0.38. Sexual, gastrointestinal, and respiratory disorders had the highest use reports, and 11 species of plants had the highest FL of 100%. On the basis of uses reported by the inhabitants of seven districts of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the CSI ranged from the lowest 1.3 to the highest 41. It is concluded that the traditional uses of EWF species depend mainly on socio-economic factors rather than climatic conditions or the number of species. However, there is a gradual loss of traditional knowledge among the younger generations. The present survey is the first baseline study about the socio-economic dimension of local communities regarding the use of EWF species for food as well as medicine. Keywords: edible wild fruits, food security, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nutraceutical, quantitative ethnobotanical indices (QEI), relative frequency citation (RFC), use value (UV)

Author Biographies

Sheikh Abidin, Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)

Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft

Wahidah Al-Qahtani, Department of Food Sciences & Nutrition, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected]

Formal analysis, Resources, Writing – original draft, Funding acquisition

Asma Saeed, Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)

Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing

Jabbar Khan, Institute of Biological Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan; [email protected] (S.Z.U.A.); [email protected] (J.K.); [email protected] (A.S.)

Validation, Resources, Writing – review & editing

Asad Ullah, Centre of Plant Biodiversity, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan; [email protected]

Validation, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing

Muhammad Zafar, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (M.Z.)

Validation, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing

Alain Cuerrier, Biological Sciences Department, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, Canada; [email protected]

Validation, Writing – review & editing, Visualization

Mushtaq Ahmad, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (M.Z.)

Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Supervision, Project administration

Raees Khan, National Herbarium, National Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan Agricultural Research, Council, Islamabad 45500, Pakistan

Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Mohsin Kazi, Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected]

Conceptualization, Validation, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing

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