The present studies cover antibacterial activity of the crude methanolic extracts of 11 medicinal... more The present studies cover antibacterial activity of the crude methanolic extracts of 11 medicinal plants viz. Adhatoda vasica, Bauhenia variegate, Bombax ceiba, Carrisa opaca, Caryopteris grata, Debregeasia salicifolia, Lantana camara, Melia azedarach, Phyllanthus emblica, Pinus roxburghii and Olea ferruginea collected from lower Himalayas against two Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus) and two Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aureginosa) bacterial strains. The extracts were applied at four different concentrations (120 mg/mL, 90mg/mL, 60mg/mL and 30mg/mL) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by using agar well diffusion method. Antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus were observed formethanolic extracts of all the above mentioned plants. Greater antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was only exhibited by Phyllanthus emblica, Pinus roxburghii, Debregeasia salicifolia and Lantana camara. Escherichia coli ...
Land-use/land cover (LULC) changes have an impact on land surface temperature (LST) at the local,... more Land-use/land cover (LULC) changes have an impact on land surface temperature (LST) at the local, regional, and global scales. To simulate the LULC and LST changes of the environmentally important area of northern Pakistan, this research focused on spatio-temporal LULC and associated LST changes since 1987 and made predictions to 2047. We classified LULC from Landsat TM and ETM data, using the maximum probability supervised categorization approach. LST was retrieved using the Radiative Transfer Equation (RTE) methodology. Furthermore, we simulated LULC using the integrated approaches of Cellular Automata (CA) and Weighted Evidence (WE) and used a regression model to predict LST. The built-up areas and vegetation have increased by 2.1% and 11% due to a decline in the barren land by −8.5% during the last 30 years. The LULC is expected to increase, particularly the built-up and vegetation classes by 2.74% and 13.66%, respectively, and the barren land would decline by −4.2% by 2047. Con...
Zootherapy is accepted all around the globe not only in ancient cultures but different animal der... more Zootherapy is accepted all around the globe not only in ancient cultures but different animal derived medicines are also part of the practice in the modern health care systems. The present study assessed the traditional ethnozoological usage of wild animals by local inhabitants in Ladakh region, India, and the reference data for scientific approaches for protection of faunal diversity in trans-Himalayas. The ethnozoological documentation of the animals in Ladakh was carried out through semistructured and close-ended questionnaire surveys and interviews. Multivariate ecological community analysis was used to elucidate the relationship between ethnozoological usage and animal species. Our results showed three animal usage clusters with 32% similarity. Moreover, the similarity in animal usage between digging tools, trophy, handle of tools, decoration, and matting, showed less than 32% of similarity. The highest priority of local people was for food followed by decoration and medicinal ...
Background Little is known about the medical material and practices of tribes in the western bord... more Background Little is known about the medical material and practices of tribes in the western border areas of Pakistan. The local population has inhabited this remote and isolated area for centuries, and gained medicinal knowledge with personal experiences and knowledge learned from forefathers. Due to the geographical isolation of the communities in the Sulaiman hills of Pakistan and their unique culture, the area is of importance for exploration and assessment. Methods A total of 116 informants were interviewed in five foothill villages and the associated migratory mountain villages during 2010–2012 and 2015. Information was gathered mainly through semi-structured interviews and freelisting. Local diseases were categorized based on symptoms and affected organs. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results Depending on the type of illness, typically a pulse diagnoser or a religious specialist is consulted. Medicinal plant knowledge and use is mostly known and advised ...
Wild vegetables can contribute to people’s food security and health. In northwest Pakistan, almos... more Wild vegetables can contribute to people’s food security and health. In northwest Pakistan, almost 40% of the households are classified as food insecure, due to increasing population and natural and man-made catastrophes. There is an urgent need to get an overview of still existing practices of wild vegetable use and to incorporate such knowledge into agricultural policies. The present study, therefore, aims to collect and analyze information on the most widely and commonly used wild vegetables in northwest Pakistan. Semistructured interviews were performed with 126 informants (26–78-year old) from all 24 districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Information on culinary and medicinal use, cooking methods, and growing and harvest season were collected. A rating scale was used to get the opinion on quality, abundance, and use frequency of wild vegetables. Information on trading was gathered on local and regional markets. Transect walks were done with key informants for specimen co...
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, Jan 9, 2017
The genus Diospyros from family Ebenaceae has versatile uses including edible fruits, valuable ti... more The genus Diospyros from family Ebenaceae has versatile uses including edible fruits, valuable timber, and ornamental uses. The plant parts of numerous species have been in use as remedies in various folk healing practices, which include therapy for hemorrhage, incontinence, insomnia, hiccough, diarrhea etc. Phytochemical constituents such as terpenoids, ursanes, lupanes, polyphenols, tannins, hydrocarbons, and lipids, benzopyrones, naphthoquinones, oleananes, and taraxeranes have been isolated from different species of this genus. The biological activities of these plants such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, anti-diabetic, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antihypertensive, cosmeceutical, enzyme-inhibitory etc. have been validated by means of an in vitro, in vivo, and clinical tests. As a rich reserve of pharmacologically important components, this genus can accelerate the pace of drug discovery. Accordingly, the aim of the present review is to survey and summ...
Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Jan 8, 2016
Indigenous communities of the Thakht-e-Sulamian hills reside in the North-West tribal belt of Pak... more Indigenous communities of the Thakht-e-Sulamian hills reside in the North-West tribal belt of Pakistan, where disadvantaged socio-economic frames, lack of agricultural land and food insecurity represent crucial problems to their survival. Several studies in diverse areas worldwide have pointed out the importance of wild food plants (WFPs) for assuring food sovereignty and food security, and therefore the current study was aimed at documenting traditional knowledge of WFPs and analyzing how this varies among generations. Ethnobotanical data were collected during 2010-2012. In total of seventy-two informants were interviewed in ten villages via in-depth interviews and group discussions with key informants followed by freelisting. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics and novelty was checked by comparing the gathered data with the published literature. A total of fifty-one WFP species belonging to twenty-eight families were documented. Rosaceae was the domin...
To cite this paper: Ahmad, K., MA Khan, M. Ahmad, N. Shaheen and A. Nazir, 2010. Taxonomic divers... more To cite this paper: Ahmad, K., MA Khan, M. Ahmad, N. Shaheen and A. Nazir, 2010. Taxonomic diversity in epidermal cells of some sub-tropical plant species. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 12: 115118 ... Taxonomic Diversity in Epidermal Cells of some Sub-tropical
Pastoralist tribal communities inhabit Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills since centuries. In this remote an... more Pastoralist tribal communities inhabit Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills since centuries. In this remote and geographically isolated area, local people mainly rely on their natural environment for ethnoveterinary care. The area is therefore of special interest for the documentation and analysis of ethnoveterinary plant use and efficacy. Field work was conducted from 2010-2012 and 86 informants were interviewed. First, detailed unstructured interviews and group discussions were done with key informants, and second, successive oral freelisting and semi-structured interviews were performed. The veterinary diseases as described by the informants were categorized according to the symptoms they cause and the organs they affect. Information on the cited plants, informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) were calculated based on use reports. A total of 22 ethnoveterinary medicinal plant species, belonging to 21 genera and 20 families with 559 use reports were recorded from two different ecological zones. More species were documented from the foothills but total use reports were higher for mountain species. Mainly leaves are used to prepare decoctions which are administered orally. Most use reports concerned skeleto-muscular problems followed by gastrointestinal ailments, but ritual uses and dermatological illnesses got highest ICF. Most often cited species were Pinus gerardina, P. wallichiana and Daphne papyracea while highest FL was obtained for Salix tetrasperma, Berberis calliobotrys and Litsea monopetala. Interestingly, 50% of the species have the same or similar use for humans. According to the local people, the most often mentioned species have high medicinal potential. They show a wide acceptance, broad application, multiple ways of preparation and administration. There is a need to conserve the knowledge of medicinal plant use in the Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills for future generations and to incorporate it into existing livestock health care services.
The present studies cover antibacterial activity of the crude methanolic extracts of 11 medicinal... more The present studies cover antibacterial activity of the crude methanolic extracts of 11 medicinal plants viz. Adhatoda vasica, Bauhenia variegate, Bombax ceiba, Carrisa opaca, Caryopteris grata, Debregeasia salicifolia, Lantana camara, Melia azedarach, Phyllanthus emblica, Pinus roxburghii and Olea ferruginea collected from lower Himalayas against two Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus) and two Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aureginosa) bacterial strains. The extracts were applied at four different concentrations (120 mg/mL, 90mg/mL, 60mg/mL and 30mg/mL) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by using agar well diffusion method. Antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus were observed formethanolic extracts of all the above mentioned plants. Greater antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was only exhibited by Phyllanthus emblica, Pinus roxburghii, Debregeasia salicifolia and Lantana camara. Escherichia coli ...
Land-use/land cover (LULC) changes have an impact on land surface temperature (LST) at the local,... more Land-use/land cover (LULC) changes have an impact on land surface temperature (LST) at the local, regional, and global scales. To simulate the LULC and LST changes of the environmentally important area of northern Pakistan, this research focused on spatio-temporal LULC and associated LST changes since 1987 and made predictions to 2047. We classified LULC from Landsat TM and ETM data, using the maximum probability supervised categorization approach. LST was retrieved using the Radiative Transfer Equation (RTE) methodology. Furthermore, we simulated LULC using the integrated approaches of Cellular Automata (CA) and Weighted Evidence (WE) and used a regression model to predict LST. The built-up areas and vegetation have increased by 2.1% and 11% due to a decline in the barren land by −8.5% during the last 30 years. The LULC is expected to increase, particularly the built-up and vegetation classes by 2.74% and 13.66%, respectively, and the barren land would decline by −4.2% by 2047. Con...
Zootherapy is accepted all around the globe not only in ancient cultures but different animal der... more Zootherapy is accepted all around the globe not only in ancient cultures but different animal derived medicines are also part of the practice in the modern health care systems. The present study assessed the traditional ethnozoological usage of wild animals by local inhabitants in Ladakh region, India, and the reference data for scientific approaches for protection of faunal diversity in trans-Himalayas. The ethnozoological documentation of the animals in Ladakh was carried out through semistructured and close-ended questionnaire surveys and interviews. Multivariate ecological community analysis was used to elucidate the relationship between ethnozoological usage and animal species. Our results showed three animal usage clusters with 32% similarity. Moreover, the similarity in animal usage between digging tools, trophy, handle of tools, decoration, and matting, showed less than 32% of similarity. The highest priority of local people was for food followed by decoration and medicinal ...
Background Little is known about the medical material and practices of tribes in the western bord... more Background Little is known about the medical material and practices of tribes in the western border areas of Pakistan. The local population has inhabited this remote and isolated area for centuries, and gained medicinal knowledge with personal experiences and knowledge learned from forefathers. Due to the geographical isolation of the communities in the Sulaiman hills of Pakistan and their unique culture, the area is of importance for exploration and assessment. Methods A total of 116 informants were interviewed in five foothill villages and the associated migratory mountain villages during 2010–2012 and 2015. Information was gathered mainly through semi-structured interviews and freelisting. Local diseases were categorized based on symptoms and affected organs. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results Depending on the type of illness, typically a pulse diagnoser or a religious specialist is consulted. Medicinal plant knowledge and use is mostly known and advised ...
Wild vegetables can contribute to people’s food security and health. In northwest Pakistan, almos... more Wild vegetables can contribute to people’s food security and health. In northwest Pakistan, almost 40% of the households are classified as food insecure, due to increasing population and natural and man-made catastrophes. There is an urgent need to get an overview of still existing practices of wild vegetable use and to incorporate such knowledge into agricultural policies. The present study, therefore, aims to collect and analyze information on the most widely and commonly used wild vegetables in northwest Pakistan. Semistructured interviews were performed with 126 informants (26–78-year old) from all 24 districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Information on culinary and medicinal use, cooking methods, and growing and harvest season were collected. A rating scale was used to get the opinion on quality, abundance, and use frequency of wild vegetables. Information on trading was gathered on local and regional markets. Transect walks were done with key informants for specimen co...
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, Jan 9, 2017
The genus Diospyros from family Ebenaceae has versatile uses including edible fruits, valuable ti... more The genus Diospyros from family Ebenaceae has versatile uses including edible fruits, valuable timber, and ornamental uses. The plant parts of numerous species have been in use as remedies in various folk healing practices, which include therapy for hemorrhage, incontinence, insomnia, hiccough, diarrhea etc. Phytochemical constituents such as terpenoids, ursanes, lupanes, polyphenols, tannins, hydrocarbons, and lipids, benzopyrones, naphthoquinones, oleananes, and taraxeranes have been isolated from different species of this genus. The biological activities of these plants such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, anti-diabetic, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antihypertensive, cosmeceutical, enzyme-inhibitory etc. have been validated by means of an in vitro, in vivo, and clinical tests. As a rich reserve of pharmacologically important components, this genus can accelerate the pace of drug discovery. Accordingly, the aim of the present review is to survey and summ...
Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Jan 8, 2016
Indigenous communities of the Thakht-e-Sulamian hills reside in the North-West tribal belt of Pak... more Indigenous communities of the Thakht-e-Sulamian hills reside in the North-West tribal belt of Pakistan, where disadvantaged socio-economic frames, lack of agricultural land and food insecurity represent crucial problems to their survival. Several studies in diverse areas worldwide have pointed out the importance of wild food plants (WFPs) for assuring food sovereignty and food security, and therefore the current study was aimed at documenting traditional knowledge of WFPs and analyzing how this varies among generations. Ethnobotanical data were collected during 2010-2012. In total of seventy-two informants were interviewed in ten villages via in-depth interviews and group discussions with key informants followed by freelisting. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics and novelty was checked by comparing the gathered data with the published literature. A total of fifty-one WFP species belonging to twenty-eight families were documented. Rosaceae was the domin...
To cite this paper: Ahmad, K., MA Khan, M. Ahmad, N. Shaheen and A. Nazir, 2010. Taxonomic divers... more To cite this paper: Ahmad, K., MA Khan, M. Ahmad, N. Shaheen and A. Nazir, 2010. Taxonomic diversity in epidermal cells of some sub-tropical plant species. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 12: 115118 ... Taxonomic Diversity in Epidermal Cells of some Sub-tropical
Pastoralist tribal communities inhabit Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills since centuries. In this remote an... more Pastoralist tribal communities inhabit Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills since centuries. In this remote and geographically isolated area, local people mainly rely on their natural environment for ethnoveterinary care. The area is therefore of special interest for the documentation and analysis of ethnoveterinary plant use and efficacy. Field work was conducted from 2010-2012 and 86 informants were interviewed. First, detailed unstructured interviews and group discussions were done with key informants, and second, successive oral freelisting and semi-structured interviews were performed. The veterinary diseases as described by the informants were categorized according to the symptoms they cause and the organs they affect. Information on the cited plants, informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) were calculated based on use reports. A total of 22 ethnoveterinary medicinal plant species, belonging to 21 genera and 20 families with 559 use reports were recorded from two different ecological zones. More species were documented from the foothills but total use reports were higher for mountain species. Mainly leaves are used to prepare decoctions which are administered orally. Most use reports concerned skeleto-muscular problems followed by gastrointestinal ailments, but ritual uses and dermatological illnesses got highest ICF. Most often cited species were Pinus gerardina, P. wallichiana and Daphne papyracea while highest FL was obtained for Salix tetrasperma, Berberis calliobotrys and Litsea monopetala. Interestingly, 50% of the species have the same or similar use for humans. According to the local people, the most often mentioned species have high medicinal potential. They show a wide acceptance, broad application, multiple ways of preparation and administration. There is a need to conserve the knowledge of medicinal plant use in the Thakht-e-Sulaiman hills for future generations and to incorporate it into existing livestock health care services.
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