An Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Medicinal Plants of Oman

Neelam Sherwani, Khamis Sulaiman Al-Dhafri and Sardar A. Farooq

Background and Objective: Sultanate of Oman abodes immense biodiversity, including some unique, threatened, endemic and regionally endemic medicinal flora confined to specialized ecological niches carved under the complex geographical terrain of this arid desert biome. In the current study, we systematically documented the diversity and therapeutic uses of medicinal plants. Materials and Methods: An intensive ethnobotanical survey carried out in different physiographic regions of the Sultanate of Oman for a time of 4 years 2014-2018. Results: A total of 437 medicinal plants are found across the geographical extent of Oman, of these 160 common medicinal plants were verified and documented for their distribution and therapeutic uses in the traditional indigenous tribes of Oman. Among these 160 medicinal species belong to 53 families and 131 genera. Fabaceae and Asteraceae were the dominant families contributing remarkably to the local ethnomedicinal tradition. Other pharmacologically active species were found among Apocynaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Amaranthaceae and Solanaceae. In general, leaves are the preferred part used to alleviate an ailment, followed by usage of the whole plant to mitigate the malady. Conclusion: This baseline survey of ethnomedicine can lead to contribution in the field of drug discovery since Omani medicinal plants are not yet fully exploited commercially for their medicinal uses, besides, at present without any in situ protected area to conserve medicinal plant diversity in Oman. This study also emphasizes the importance of setting up strategies and conservation priorities and the utilization of ethnomedicinal plants.

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