Assessment of Traditional Medicinal Plants used to treat human and livestock ailments and their threatening factors in Gulomekeda District, Northern Ethiopia

About 80% of the total population of Ethiopia is depending on traditional medicine to treat different types of
human illness. More than 90% livestock in Ethiopia rely on traditional medicine. This study was conducted
in Gulomekeda district, Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, to assess the Traditional Medicinal Plants used
to treat human and livestock ailments and their threatening factors. Purposive sampling was employed to
assess the traditional medicinal plants and local knowledge of the people in the study area. Data was
collected by questionnaires and interviews to gather information on plant species used for medicinal plants,
part(s) of plants used for medicine, methods of preparations, route of utilizations and source of the plants. A
total of 34 medicinal plants, which belong to 27 families were recorded in the study area. The local people
use the recorded plants to treat more than 24 different aliments of human and livestock. Leaf was the most
frequently used plant part used to treat human disease, followed by root. Oral application was also widely
used followed by dermal. Deforestation, drought, erosion, urbanization and overgrazing were found to be
major threats to the existence of medicinal plants in the study area. Future policy on documentation of the
traditional medicinal plants and research should also focus on proper conservation and development of
pharmaceutical drugs from these traditional medicines.