Traditional knowledge on plant use from Negotin Krajina (Eastern Serbia): An ethnobotanical study

Abstract

This work reports the ethnomedicinal, human nutrition, animal nutrition and usage for other purposes of indigenous plants by local population (urban and rural) of the Negotin Krajina (Eastern Serbia). The group of local inhabitants (34) were interviewed by semi-structured questionnaires and the relative frequency of citation index (RFC) was determined. There are 37 plant species recorded, belonging to 21 families, where the families Lamiaceae (28.57%), Asteraceae (23.81%) and Rosaceae (23.81%) were dominant. The Matricaria chamomilla L. (RFC 0.56), Urtica dioica L. (RFC 0.53), Hypericum perforatum L. (RFC 0.41), Salvia officinalis L. (RFC 0.29), Plantago major L. (RFC 0.26), Achillea millefolilium L. (RFC 0.26), Calendula officinalis L. (RFC 0.24) and Taraxacum campylodes G.E. Haglund (RFC 0.21) are the most commonly used medicinal plants. For all cited species, it was recorded to have medicinal use, while 19 (51.35%) of them are used in human nutrition, 8 (21.62%) in animal nutrition and 20 (54.05%) plant species have usage for other purposes. The most cited medicinal use was for treating immune (43.24%), digestive (40.54%), respiratory (27.03%), as well as the skin disorders (27.03%). Our study revealed that indigenous plants are very significant especially for primary healthcare of inhabitants of the Negotin Krajina, known as a relatively isolated, multiethnic and a traditional agricultural area.