Ethnopharmacology, indigenous collection and preservation techniques of some frequently used medicinal plants of Utror and Gabral, district Swat, Pakistan

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted in the remote Hindukush-Himalayan valleys of Utror and Gabral, during which 36 common folk medicinal recipes of the area were documented. The indigenous methods of medicinal plants collection and their further processing were also explored. It was also observed that huge quantities of valuable medicinal plants are lost every year due to lack of proper collection, cleaning, packing and storage techniques on the part of local collectors. Keywords: medicinal plants, folk recipes, Hindukush-Himalayas African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Vol. 3(2) 2006: 57-73