Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used for treating urinary tract problems in eastern Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is one of the wealthiest countries in biological resources that have potential as medicinal plants. Medicinal plants can be an alternative in treating diseases such as urinary tract problems by the people of eastern Indonesia. The study aims to evaluate the use of medicinal plants for various urinary tract problems in east Indonesia, including their efficacy and safety based on the literature review. This research was conducted by interview method and field survey. The data were collected from traditional health practitioners in eastern Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Frequency of Citation (FC) and the Use value (UV). The results showed a total of 222 plants species belonging to 78 families were identified for treating urinary tract problems in east Indonesia. The most prevalent of these was the Euphorbiaceae family. The species which had the highest value were Orthosiphon aristatus (FC 12.52%, UV 0.31), Sericocalyx crispus (FC 7.80%; UV 0.19), Phyllanthus niruri (FC 6.35%; UV 0.16) were the vast majority commonly used plant species in the treatment of urinary tract problems. The most common parts used were leaves (44.87%) and herbs (10.66%). The ethnomedicinal flora in east Indonesia is quite diverse for treating urinary tract problems.