Ethnobotany of wild medicinal plants used by the Muun ethnic people: A quantitative survey in southern Chin state, Myanmar

As Myanmar begins to carry out reforms for socio-economic development, the pressure to discover and utilize potential resources which could help improve its peoples' condition also increases. This research, the first quantitative ethnobotanical study conducted in the country, aimed to document the wild medicinal plants and their uses in traditional herbal therapies among the Muun ethnic group in southern Chin State. The survey was carried out by interviewing 90 informants using semi-structured questionnaires where plant use-reports (UR) from each informant were recorded. Relative importance of each plant was computed using quantitative ethnobotanical indices Use Value (UV) and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). Reported plants were also collected, identified and prepared as voucher specimens. A total of 58 wild medicinal plant taxa in 35 families across 15 disease/use categories were recorded. Prunus cerasoides, Pinus kesiya and Rhododendron arboreum were shown to be the most useful plants as supported by their relatively high URs and UVs. Notable disease/use categories based on ICF scores included respiratory disorders, malarial symptoms and injuries caused by external factors which have been generally attributed to geographical and sociocultural environments. This study has documented novel ethnobotanical information which can be significantly important for future research work in Myanmar traditional medicine and pharmacology and for the development of the country's herbal medicine industry. It can also serve to show the Muun people as owners of their traditional medicinal knowledge, which is equally valuable to their future generations and for benefits sharing that may arise from their contribution.