Ethnomedicine exploration of medicinal plants in Dayak Bakumpai and Ngaju Tribes, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Lestariningsih N, Jalil M, Ayatusa’adah, Nirmalasari R. 2022. Ethnomedicine exploration of medicinal plants in Dayak Bakumpai and Ngaju Tribes, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 1163-1174. Dayak Tribes in Central Kalimantan still utilize traditional medicines from parts of plants as a hereditary inheritance. Knowledge about traditional medicines, however, has not been well documented and most of the traditional gatherer families do not want to be a gatherer. This could lead to the loss of tradition in concocting traditional medicine. Therefore, the research aims to conserve and preserve local wisdom by documenting traditional medicinal plants used by gatherers and communities of the Dayak Bakumpai and Ngaju Tribes. Moreover, it aims to gather data on the use value of the traditional medicinal plant species of the Dayak Tribes. The research focuses on the ethnomedicine exploration of the Dayak Ngaju Tribe in Seruyan and Katingan and Dayak Bakumpai in Muara Teweh and Kapuas. Samples are taken purposively and using a snowball sampling that results in 42 volunteered key informants. The key informants are interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The knowledge and practice of medicinal plants are analyzed using descriptive statistics of percentages. The research results indicate that the role of the gatherers and Batra in Borneo is significant since they have knowledge of ethnomedicine in the efforts to maintain health and conserve the surrounding plants. A total of 60 plant species are mixed by the Batra/local people and spread in 36 families. Species mostly found are from the Fabaceae and Lauraceae families. The use value of the species in the Dayak Tribe medicinal plants is in the range of 0.02-0.1 with the largest UVc value found in the species of Eurycoma longifolia Jack., Tinospora crispa Miers., Planchonia valida BI., Ficus deltoidea Jack., and Morus alba L. More surveys are suggested regarding traditional medicines with their chemical profile and pharmacological examination, especially in rural areas that still use traditional medicines.