Ethnomedicinal plants by the Subanen of Barangay Lake Duminagat, Mindanao Island, Philippines

Abstract

Background: In this modern age of technological advancements, traditional herbal medicine still takes an integral part in an array of medical and scientific studies that deal with drug discoveries and drug
development. In the Philippines, ethnomedicinal studies involving different cultural communities have
already been conducted. However, these studies focused mostly on well-known tribes whereas knowledge of the many less-known indigenous groups is still untapped. The Subanen is one of this group who resides in Barangay Lake Duminagat situated on Mindanao Island. The Subanen is considered as one of the most prominent of the Lumad or non-Muslim indigenous cultural communities. Prior studies about the medicinal ethnobotany of the Subanen were already recorded but most of these were from Ozamis City, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga del Sur. Traditional knowledge from this tribe was passed on from generation to generation through oral communication but the lack of proper documentation poses a threat to this valuable information.

Objective: This study was conducted to document the herbal remedies used by the Subanen and identify the plants according to their common name, scientific name, family, habit of growth, plant parts used, modes of preparation, mode of application, and ailments treated.

Methodology: Ethnomedicinal information was gathered from 35 respondents through key informant
interviews and focused group discussions conducted in Barangay Lake Duminagat, Mt. Malindang,
Philippines.

Results: Thirty-two plants distributed to 21 families were documented as medicinal plants used by the
Subanen respondents to treat various ailments in their community. Asteraceae was the most represented followed by Lamiaceae with seven and three species each, respectively. As to the plant habit, out of the 32 species, 20 plant species are herbs, thus, constituting the highest portion, followed by four tree species, four species of shrub, three species of grass, and one fern species. Leaves were the most frequently utilized (60.7%), followed by roots (19.6%), and whole plant (10.7%). Plants prepared as herbal medicines are utilized in different ways such as decoction, infusion, poultice, heated, chewed, or as extract but the highest mentioned was decoction. As to the mode of utilization, orally administered decoction (27.3%) through drinking ranked the highest. For the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), the highest was calculated for Pletcranthus sculletarioides (1.49), followed by Psidium guajava (0.83), and Kalanchoe pinnata (0.80). Lastly, for the Use Value (UV), the result varied from 0.03 to 0.25 with an average UV value of 0.06. The highest UV was calculated for Pletcranthus sculletarioides (UV=0.23).

Conclusion: Compared to previously conducted studies between the years 2014 to 2019, fewer
ethnomedicinal plants were recorded in this particular area. This might imply that the ethnomedicinal
knowledge of this specific Subanen community is slowly eroding.