Ethnobotany of medicinal plants in Asam Jawa Village, South Labuhanbatu, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Every year, the use of natural compounds for the treatment of various diseases tend to increases. Traditional medicine derived from plants has long been used by the people of Indonesia. Despite significant advancement of modern medicine, medicinal plants have become the preferred alternative option for many tribes in Indonesia. The goals of this study were to (1) identify the medicinal plant species used in Asam Jawa Village, Torgamba District, South Labuhanbatu Regency, (2) identify the purpose of using each medicinal plant, (3) identify the part of the plant used, and (4) determine how to process and use each medicinal plant. This research method employs in-depth interviews with key respondents as well as the snowball sampling method for determining respondents. The findings revealed that the villagers of Asam Jawa Village utilized 40 different species of medicinal plants. The species were classified into 26 families. The most of families are originated from the Zingiberaceae family, which consist of five species (12.5%) Based on the therapy purpose, the species used for fever, cough, stomach pain, diarrhea, gout, cholesterol, itching medicine, backache medicine, anti-inflammatory, and others.