Study on the diversity of medicinal plants at muong phang forest dien bien province

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY

STUDENT THESIS
Title
STUDY ON THE DIVERSITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AT MUONG
PHANG FOREST, DIEN BIEN PROVINCE
Major: Natural Resources Management
Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management

Student: Nguyen Thi Thu Trang
Student ID: 1453091510
Class: K59A Natural Resources Management

Course: 2014 – 2018

Advanced Education Program
Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Quang Nam

Hanoi, June 2018


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Assoc. Prof.
Dr. Vu Quang Nam, for the continuous support of my student thesis study and research, for
his motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me in the time
of research and achieve this thesis.
Beside my advisor, I would like to thank Mr. Tien and all the staff in Muong Phang

Historical and Landscape Forest Management Board who provide me many useful
knowledge about Muong Phang forest and Muong Phang commune. I also would like to
thank Mr. Phuc and Mr. Tuyen, the local physician and local people, who are helped me to
investigate and identify medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest. I would like thank to
local people and local physicians in Muong Phang commune who gave me many
informations and traditional remedies of Thai ethnic.
Lastly, I would like to thank to my family, who always support me in doing
research.

Xuan Mai, Ha Noi, September 2018

i


CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................... i
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................ iv
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 1
I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Medicinal plants resource in Viet Nam ........................................................................... 2
1.2 The use of medicinal plants in Vietnam .......................................................................... 3
1.3 Study on the diversity of medicinal plants at Muong Phang commune .......................... 4
II. RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................... 5
2.1 Goal. ................................................................................................................................ 5
2.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 5
III. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Study Site......................................................................................................................... 5
3.1.1 Natural conditions in study area .................................................................................. 6

3.1.2 Land Resources ............................................................................................................ 7
3.1.3 Forest resources ........................................................................................................... 7
3.1.4 Economic and Social conditions................................................................................... 8
3.2 Data collection ................................................................................................................. 8
3.2.1 Field work ..................................................................................................................... 8
3.2.2 Community survey ........................................................................................................ 9
3.3 Data processing ............................................................................................................. 11
3.4 Study on the diversity .................................................................................................... 12

ii


IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................... 13
4.1 The diversity of medicinal plant used by phylum, families and species ....................... 13
4.2 The list of species in study area are in Redbook ........................................................... 16
4.3 The diversity of medicinal plants by plant habits .......................................................... 17
4.4 The diversity of medicinal plants by use ....................................................................... 17
4.5 Some traditional remedies of ethnic minority in the study area .................................... 21
4.6 Propose sustainable conservation of medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest ............. 28
4.6.1 The importance and potential of medicinal plants in Muong Phang commune ......... 28
4.6.2 Situation of harvesting medicinal plants and threatening to medicinal plants .......... 30
4.6.3 Propose sustainable conservation, spread development of the valuable medicinal
plant species ........................................................................................................................ 31
V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 32
VI. REFERENCES
APPENDIX

iii

LIST OF ACRONYMS
IUCN

International Union for Conservation of Nature

PRA

Rapid / Rural Appraisal

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Muong Phang forest. ............................................................................................ 10
Figure 2: Top 10 families which have the most species been found. .................................. 19
Figure 3: The plant habits of medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest .............................. 21
Figure 4: The list of pathology which can be treated by 273 species of medicinal plants . 23

LIST OF TABLES
Table1: The distribution of Taxon on medical plants .............................................................. 17
Table 2: Top 10 families which have the most species been found .................................... 18
Table 3: The list of medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest which belongs to Redbook.. 20
Table 4: Some pathologies which can be treated by medicinal plants in the study area ..... 22
Table 5: The variety of remedies by plants ......................................................................... 26

iv

ABSTRACT
Located in the northern mountains of Vietnam, Muong Phang forest is not only a
historical forest, but also flora extremely diverse. Many of the species are capable of being
used for healing, so it is considered as a potential forest for medicinal plants. Most of the
medicinal plants here are used on the experience of indigenous peoples, mainly the Thai
Đen ethnic. However, due to no systematic study and recording, many medicinal species
have not been recorded as well as many medicinal plants have not been discovered all
about usage. This research was conducted to study the diversity of medicinal plants in
Muong Phang forest in Dien Bien district. To do the research, methods include
investigating medicinal plants as directed by local physicians and forest managers. In
addition, methods of interviewing local people are also applied. Through investigate, There
are total of 273 medicinal plant species was recorded in the study area belong to 95
families, 2 phyla: Magnoliophyta and Pteridophyta. There are seven species listed in the
Vietnam Red Book (2007), one in the CR (Critically endangered), three species in the EN
(Endangered) and three species in the VU (Vulnerable). Total 33 of pathology were
recorded to be capable of treating by 273 species which have been found. These diseases
are Sedative; Poliomyelitis; Detoxity; Asthma; Snake bite; Malaria; Bone pain; Acute
rheumatic; Diabetes; Diseases of the heart and blood pressure; Haemorrhoids; Hepatitis;
Meningitis; Infertility; Cirrhosis; Brain hemorrhage; Dysentery; Calculus of kidney; Acne;
Acute nasopharyngitis; Burn; Menstruation; Low milk supply; Gastropathy; Fracture;
Viagra; Mumps; Toothache; Bleed; Tuberculosis; Kidney disease; Diarrhea; Bronchitis.
Along with the diversity of medicinal plants found, further development of medicinal plant
research and preservation, if is implemented, will bring benefits such as the preservation of
precious natural plants or even increase the local economic.

1


I. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Medicinal plants resource in Viet Nam

In all cultures of mankind from ancient times to now, people have always
considered plants as a source of medicine for healing. In the world, up to now 35,000 to
70,000 species of plant species have been used for healing purposes. Plant resources are
extremely important to each country, including Vietnam. Viet Nam is a temperate country
with favorable conditions for the development of organism and various ecosystems.
According to IUCN statistics, our country has more than 12,000 species of higher plants
with many medicinal plants. Not only plays a role as green lungs regulate the climate,
forest flora also bring a great potential of medicinal plants in particular with the resources
in general medicine. According to the national survey just from 1961 to 1985, National
Institute of Medicinal Materials has recorded in our country has 1836 species of 263 plant
families have been recorded can be used as medicine.According to the scientist Vo Van
Chi, this number has reached 4700 species of 1200 genera of over 300 families, meaning
that all families in the flora of Vietnam have some species that can be used as medicine.
Among them, over 90% of the species are natural medicinal plants. The amount of
medicinal plants we know has increased dramatically. This proves that if investigated fully
the flora of medicine in Vietnam can be much larger. The medicinal plants are widely
distributed throughout the country with eight focus areas: North West, North East, Red
River Delta, North Central, Eastern Truong Son, South Central Coast, Central Highlands,
South East and Mekong River Delta; Focusing mainly on 5 centers of biodiversity are
Bach Ma, Lam Vien, Hoang Lien Son, Cuc Phuong, Yok Don and Cat Tien. Of the listed
species, there are many species that are classified as rare in the world such as Ngoc Linh
ginseng, Panax Bipinnatifidus (Tam That hoang), Bulbus Lili (Bach Hop), Taxus
Wallichiana (Thong do)... in which, Ngoc Linh ginseng (or Vietnamese ginseng) is among

2


the most saponin ginseng, higher than the ginseng has long been studied in the world such
as Korean ginseng, Chinese ginseng.
1.2 The use of medicinal plants in Vietnam

In Vietnam, the research on medicinal plants has been carried out very early,
associated with the names of many famous doctors such as Thien Su Tue Tinh with "Nam
Duoc Than Hieu" written about 499 medicines. Of these, 241 are derived from plants. Hai
Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac with the "Linh Nam Ban Thao" includes two books: 496
copies of inheriting of Thien Su Tue Tinh, 305 copies subscribed for additional use or new
discoveries. Along with modern medical methods, traditional remedies with most of the
ingredients are derived from medicinal plants that have been widely used throughout the
country. According to the statistics of the pharmaceutical industry, the country has about
40 traditional medicine hospitals and traditional medicine departments in the general
hospitals. There is 5000 people practice in traditional medicine with nearly 4000 clinics.
About 700 species are usually mentioned in traditional medicine books, 120 species are
commonly used by the people as common medicinal plants for family treatment.
Moreover, in recent years, although many pharmaceuticals are produced by chemically
synthesized pathways, more than 50% of Viet Nam's currently used drugs are derived from
plants. They provide up to 50 to 60,000 tons of pharmaceuticals used in our country each
year and exports (botanyvn.com). Today, finding highly active biologically active
ingredients for medicine is a very interesting trend for scientists. Many medicinal herbs
have been used to extract active ingredients such as Berberine from Coscinium fenestratum
(Vang dang), Rutin from Shophora japonica (Hoa Hoe), Beta-carotene and Lycopene from
Mormodica cochichinensis (Gac), Strychin from Strychnos nux-vomica (Ma Tien) , Papain
from Papaya (Carica papaya), Diosdenin from Dioscorea deltoidea, Curcumin from
Curcuma longa (Nghe vang) , Methol from Mint (Metha arvesis) ... In which, many

3


important active ingredients such as quinine, morphin, strychnin ... must be extracted from
medicinal materials that cannot go by chemical synthesis. Along with the ancient and
modern research, the experience of using medicinal plants in Vietnam comes largely from
ethnic communities.The unique in the use of medicinal plants is reflected in the experience

of individuals or of each ethnic community. The biodiversity of medicinal plants is closely
related to the diversity of national cultural identity and the medical knowledge of each
country. Vietnam is the home of 54 ethnic groups, except Kinh ethnic, most of whom are
ethnic minorities. Each ethnic group has different experiences using different medicinal
plants. The diversity of medicinal plants in each region of the country combined with the
experience and understanding of each of ethnic group has created a treasure of traditional
medicine extremely valuable.
1.3 Study on the diversity of medicinal plants at Muong Phang commune
Muong Phang is a small commune in Dien Bien province. As well as other
mountainous districts in the north, the socio-economic situation is still difficult. Traffic is
not very favorable as well as the economy has not developed so the access to modern
medicine here is difficult. The use of medicinal plants as well as traditional medicine is an
important factor in the life of the local population. Over the generations, the knowledge
and experience of using medicinal plants to cure is increasingly accumulated. The residents
are mostly ethnic people, so the medicine is used to bring the knowledge and experience of
the typical Thai people, transmitted from one life to the other. The medicinal plants here
are mostly exploited from the Muong Phang forest. This is a primary forest located in the
historical area so the research on plant resources in general and medicinal plant resources
in particular is not really focused. Almost no research has evaluated the diversity of
medicinal plants and their uses here. Therefore, I choose the thesis “STUDY ON THE
DIVERSITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AT MUONG PHANG FOREST, DIEN BIEN

4


PROVINCE” to study and evaluate the diversity of medicinal plants in Vietnam and
provide proposes appropriate exploitation and protection options.

II. RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
2.1 Goal

Provide the diversity of medicinal plants and propose some solutions of appropriate
protection to sustainable management to medicinal plant resources at the Muong Phang
forest in Dien Bien Province
2.2 Objectives


Assess the diversity of medical plants in Muong Phang forest



Assess the importance and the potential of medicinal plants in Mương Phang

commune


Proposing some solutions of appropriate protection and sustainable

management to medicinal plant resources.


Establishing a list of medicinal plants at the study site

III. METHODOLOGY
3.1 Study Site

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Figure1: Muong Phang forest
3.1.1 Natural conditions in study area



Geographical location

Muong Phang forest belong to Muong Phang commune which has terrain features
including high mountains and steeply divided by mountain ranges forming narrow valleys
with elevations of 880 m to 1,635 m above the surface of seawater.


Weather

The area is located in the tropical monsoon with cold winters and it is divided into
two distinct seasons: humid, rainy in the summer and less rainy winters (April to July) and
cold northeasterly winds (November to February).


Temperature

The average annual temperature is 22.3℃, in winter the temperature can drop to
3℃. Summer temperature can up to 26.3℃.


Air humidity:

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Moisture is around 82%. The rainfall of 1,600mm - 2000mm / year allows the
development of both tropical and temperate crops (in mountainous areas) to create a
variety of vegetation here.

3.1.2 Land Resources
Based on the results of the field survey and the inheritance of the results of the
survey on the site map of Dien Bien province, Muong Phang commune has the following
land categories:
- The upper group of humic acrisols (Đất mùn vàng đỏ trên đá macma axit) : It is
distributed between 950 m and 1,600 m above sea level with an average slope of > 250 m.
The parent rocks are mostly magmatic acid and metamorphic rocks, the average
mechanical content of humus content is relatively thick.
- Dystric gleysols (Đất thung lũng bồi tụ): The distribution is concentrated mainly
along the lakes, streams, hills and valleys, with an elevation of less than 950 m. This type
of soil has medium to heavy soil layer, the mechanical composition from light meat to
sandy phase, soil to foam.
- Ferralic Acrisols (Đất đỏ vàng trên đá macma axit): Distribution mainly at the
height from 900 to 1,000 m above sea level; the soil has an average mechanical content of
meat with a high content of humus;
- Land valley (Đất thung lũng): The land is formed by the sloping product of the
stream; mechanical composition of soil from light meat, high humus content, suitable for
agricultural production
3.1.3 Forest resources
Muong Phang forest has the total area is 6.781,8 ha with 2 main types of forest
include special use and protect forest. In which special use area is 2669.6 ha and protect

7


forest is 4112, 2 ha. Beside it, the forest system is divided into many categories such as
natural forest, planted forest, and bareland.
In the east of the Muong Phang forest, there is a peak of 1,658m high, the highest
peak of the forest on the border with Dien Bien Dong district. In the west, the forest is less
than 1,000 meters above sea level

3.1.4 Economic and Social conditions
Due to its inconvenience geographic location, Muong Phang Commune is a poor
commune with commune statistics from 2014; approximately half of the households in the
commune are poor. The people in the commune are mainly Thai, Kinh, Mong and Kho
Mu, in which the Thai majority. At present, people are living in Muong Phang forest area
in general and Muong Phang commune in particular that depend mainly on agriculture
with main agricultural products such as rice and maize. There are also small industrial
establishments in the commune but the number is small. Due to the terrain away from Dien
Bien, tourism has not really developed despite the historical relic of Muong Phang located
in the commune.
3.2 Data collection
3.2.1 Field work


Collect data on socio-economic situation in the locality. The importance of

medicinal plants in people's life, level of exploitation of medicinal plants in Muong Phang
forest. The level of protection of the government as well as the people to medicinal plant
resources in Muong Phang forest Dien Bien province


Collect data from relevant authorities about the topography of the forest to be

surveyed. Working with local leaders as well as local forest rangers, indigenous people on
topographic information at Muong Phang Forest


Base on the collected information:

8

Determination of survey line: The survey line is based on the vegetation status,
terrain and distribution of medicinal plants in the area. Surveys are made through different
terrains and vegetation; Take the center of the community to mind and go in different
directions.


Investigate the routes appear many medicinal plants are known by local people.



Investigate the routes appear many medicinal plants but not often exploited.

In the course of the investigation to ensure accuracy and safety should be
accompanied by at least one indigenous people who has the knowledge of medicinal plants
as well as where they usually appear.
During the survey, if samples of unknown species or rare species were found in the
field, they would be able to identify the following characteristics: bark characteristics,
leave shape, taste ... then transferred to Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for
sample inspection.


Take a photo shoot, photograph the species collected. Collect sample species

for further investigation if needed
 Sample collection
 Collect sample: full collection and representation of species according to the list
 Sample processing : pressed or dried
 Using camera to record images of medicinal plants

3.2.2 Community survey
Interviewing, collecting medicinal plants and using medicinal plants in the
community using Participatory Rapid / Rural Appraisal (PRA) methodology - participatory
rural appraisal method the ethnographic plant of Gary J. Martin. Some of the techniques
commonly used in PRA are:


Interview

9


This technique involves obtaining valuable information through simply talking to
individual community members or small groups. It is not limited to gaining stakeholder
information but is used to better understanding the community’s relationship and
dependency on the natural resources, the management issues, and the available resources in
addition to a whole range of additional information. I apply 2 ways of interview:
• Interview with key informants: Interview with knowledgeable people about a
particular topic. In this survey, I interview local physicians (mainly Thai Đen ethnic) about
some main content:
+ The medicinal plants used to treat the disease and its uses.
+ Their understanding of the diversity of medicinal plants in the Muong
Phang forest
+ Where they often take medicinal ingredients
• Group interviews: conduct multiple interviews at the same time to collect
information in the community. In this survey, I interviewed local people in the area about
some main content:
+ The local socio-economic situation, the degree of dependence on the
medicinal plant resources of people
+ The understanding of people in the region on the diversity of medicinal

plants in the area as well as their use
+ How medicinal plant resources are protected in the area
• Prepare: Prepare 2 set of questionnaire about what information I want to collect.
These questions should be short, easy to understand and do not use too many words of
expertise.


Ranking

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The continuity of medicinal plants commonly used in the area. From that, we can
give the importance of medicinal plants in indigenous people’s life.
In this survey, I collect the same information from multiple sources from which
information can be cross-checked, to determine the accuracy of information in particular in
the use of drug resources, status of protecting medicinal plants resource in the area
3.3 Data processing


Analyze and evaluate the collected data, compare with the published

documents.


Scientific name identification: By morphological comparison between sample

collected and specimens available at Viet Nam National University of Forestry and other
documents related to plants such as “Cay co Viet Nam”, “Ten cay rung VietNam”, “
Nhung cay thuoc va vi thuoc VietNam”, “ tracuuduoclieu.vn”



Organize medicinal plants into taxon distribution , set according to the

classification system
Phylum

Family
Number

Species
%

Number

%

The percentage was used to calculate the percentage of number of species for each
family which divide total numbers of species.


Arrange the species by the usage



Arrange the species by each pathology
Family

Number

Name of species

Phylum
( Scientific name)

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

Building the list of species in Red book

Family

Scientific name

Status

 Summarize data collected from community surveys such as: socio-economic
conditions, methods of using medicinal plants, the importance of medicinal plants in
people's life, the status of protecting medicinal plants in this area.
3.4 Study on the diversity
Criteria about the diversity were assessed based on Nguyen Nghia Thin (2007),
Ngo Truc Nha and Nguyen Thi Hanh (1999), which included:
 Diversity in phylum classification
Build the category: List of species of plants in Vietnam. The list is based on the
principle of the evolution of the plant’s phylum, the scientific name is sorted in alphabet..
Species are recorded based on species identification from published documents
 Diverse usage.
Building the category:

 List of specie’s use base on the usage by local physicians (mainly Thai Den
ethnic) and base on other published documents
 Classification of diseases group: Disease groups are classified according to Le
Tran Duc (1997) “Cây thuốc Việt Nam trồng hái chế biến và trị bệnh ban đầu", the
traditional medicine of Do Tat Loi, Vo Van Chi ... I divided the use of medicinal plants by
15 groups. Details are as follows:
Group 1: Psychiatric diseases/ Group 2: Respiratory diseases/ Group 3:
Cardiovascular disease/ Group 4: Mental illness/ Group 5: Digestive diseases/ Group 6:
Urinary and hepatic disease/ Group 7: Genital diseases/ Group 8: Depression without

12


pain/ Group 9: Soreness/ Group 10: Dermatitis/ Group 11: Foreign trade/ Group 12:
Diseases of women/ Group 13: Childhood illness/ Group 14: Diseases by weather /
Group 15: Animal’s bite


Assessment of the degree of danger: according to Vietnam Red Book;

according to Decree 32/2006 / ND-CP; According to IUCN, CITES.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 The diversity of medicinal plant used by phylum, families and species


The diversity of medical plants used by phylum

Through the survey and investigate, a total of 273 medicinal plant species was
recorded in the study area belong to 95 families, 2 phyla

Table 1: The distribution of Taxon on medical plants
Family

Species

Phylum
Number

%

Number

%

Magnoliophyta

80

76

249

91%

Pteridophyta

15

14

24

9%

Total

95

273

The diversity of medicinal plants is reflected in the diversity phylum of the plant.
According to the survey, there are two major phyla in the study area, Magnoliophyta and
Pteridophyta. The distribution of medicinal plants in each phylum is different. In which,
the major belong to Magnoliophyta that have a total of 249 species belonging to 80
families. They occupied 91% of species and 76% of families which have been found in the
study area. Pteridophyta have a total of 24 species belonging to 15 families. They occupied
9% of species and 14% of families which have been found in the study area. The data show

13


the dominance of Magnoliophyta compared with Pteridophyta which have been found in
the study area.


The diversity of medical plants used by families

There are 95 families belonging to two phylla which have been found in Muong
Phang forest. The list of families has been found as medicinal plants in study area are list
in appendix.

Table 2 Top 10 families which have the most species been found
The number of
Number

Family

Percentage %
species

1

ASTERACEAE

18

6.5%

2

ARALIACEAE

17

6.2%

3

RUBIACEAE

13

4.7%

4

VERBENACEAE

10

3.6%

5

AMARANTHACEAE

8

3%

6

MIMOSACEAE

8

3%

7

FABACEAE

7

2.50%

8

ASTERACEAE

7

2.50%

9

MALVACEAE

6

2.10%

10

THELYPTERIDACEAE

6

2.10%

14

TOP 10 FAMILIES WHICH HAVE THE MOST
SPECIES BEEN FOUND
AMARANTHACEAE

ASTERACEAE
ARALIACEAE
ASTERACEAE
FABACEAE
Malvaceae
MIMOSACEAE
RUBIACEAE
Thelypteridaceae

THE REST

VERBENACEAE

Figure 2: Top 10 families which have the most species been found
Among medical plants are found there are many families have only one species or
few species but also a lot of families have been recorded with a large number of
subordinate species. Among them, the families are found with the largest number of
species which is ASTERACEAE with 18 species, occupied 6.5% of the total families. Top
10 families which have the most species been found occupied 36% of the total families.
The rest without top 10 include 85 families which occupied 64% of the total families. Nine
out of 10 of these families belong to Magnoliophyta, only one are Thelypteridaceae in
Pteridophyta. This again demonstrates the superiority of Magnoliophyta in the total
number of medicinal plants found.

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Based on the above mentioned theory, it is obvious that the medicinal plant species
in Muong Phang forest have a rich diversity in terms of both botanical species and
families.


The diversity of medicinal plants used by species

There are 273 species belonging 95 families, 2 phyla, which have been found in the
study area. A list of species together with their uses is listed in the appendices.
The data have showed out that the area has fairly rich flora in terms of the number
of species. The medicinal plants are not only diversified in reference to the species, but the
number of families also. The results still not exactly the diversity of medicinal plants in
Muong Phang forest because still have many species that are not identified or I don’t know
the uses of this species.
4.2 The list of species in study area are in Redbook
Table 3: The list of medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest which belongs to
Redbook
Family

Species

Status

APOCYNACEAE

Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz

CR

ARALIACEAE

Acanthopanax trifoliatus (L.) Voss

EN

BURSERACEAE

Canarium tramdenum Dai & Yakovl.

VU

MELIACEAE

Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss.

VU

THYMELEACEAE

Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex Lecomte

EN

ORCHIDACEAE

Anoectochilus setaceus Blume

CR

POLYGONACEAE

Polygonum multiflorum Thunb

VU

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4.3 The diversity of medicinal plants by plant habits
Through investigate and analysis the plant habits of the traditional medicinal plant
species in Muong Phang forest, I found that: There are 5 growth form habits were found in
the study area. The frequently plant habits in the study area are tree and herb species
constitute the highest number of species (79%), Shrub just covered 14%, followed by liana
6.5% and epiphyte is the least number of plant species represented by only one species
0.5%. The most habits are herb, tree and shrub forms, almost these are belonging to some
families as Asteraceae, Araliaceae, Mimosaceae, and Rubiaceae…

Plant habits
Shrub
14%

Epiphyta
Liana
6% 1%
Herb
42%

Tree
37%

Herb

Tree

Shrub

Liana

Epiphyta

Figure 3: The plant habits of medicinal plants in Muong Phang forest
4.4 The diversity of medicinal plants by use
Thanks to the help of local physicians, local people (mainly Thai Den ethnic) and
base on other published documents. The investigation in the study area has been found 273
species belonging 95 families, 2 phyla. In which, 33 pathology were recorded to be capable
of treating by these 273 species. The detail of group disease was list in the table below:

17


Table 4: Some pathologies which can be treated by medicinal plants in the study area
Number

Name of pathology

Number of species

1

SNAKE’s BITE

73

2

ACUTE RHEUMATIC

61

3

MALARIA

26

4

HEPATITIS

26

5

DETOXITY

24

6

DISEASES OF THE HEART

17

7

ASTHMA

14

8

BRONCHITIS

11

9

SEDATIVE

10

10

BONE PAIN

10

11

DIABETES

10

12

HAEMORRHOIDS

10

13

DYSENTERY

10

14

ACUTE NASOPHARYNGITIS

7

15

MENSTRUATION

6

16

DIARRHEA

6

17

CALCULUS OF KIDNEY

5

18

GASTROPATHY

5

19

POLIOMYELITIS

4

20

INFERTILITY

4

21

CIRRHOSIS

4

22

ACNE

4

18


80

70

30

20

10

0

SNAKE BITE
ACUTE RHEUMATIC
MALARIA

HEPATITIS
DETOXITY
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND…
ASTHMA
BRONCHITIS
SEDATIVE
BONE PAIN
DIABETES
HAEMORRHOIDS
DYSENTERY
ACUTE NASOPHARYNGITIS
MENSTRUATION
DIARRHEA
CALCULUS OF KIDNEY
GASTROPATHY
POLIOMYELITIS
INFERTILITY
CIRRHOSIS
ACNE
LOW MILK SUPPLY
BLEED
KIDNEY DISEASE
MENINGITIS
BURN
FRACTURE
TUBERCULOSIS
VIAGRA
MUMPS
TOOTHACHE
BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

23
LOW MILK SUPPLY
4

24
BLEED
4

25
KIDNEY DISEASE
4

26
MENINGITIS
3

27
BURN
3

28
FRACTURE
3

29
TUBERCULOSIS
3

30

VIAGRA
2

31
MUMPS
2

32
TOOTHACHE
2

33
BRAIN HEMORRHAGE
1

Total

17
14
11 10 10 10 10 10

387

73

60
61

50

40

26 26 24
7 6 6 5 5
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2
1

Number of species

Figure 4: The list of pathology which can be treated by 273 species of medicinal plants

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From the list of pathology which can be treated by 273 species of medicinal plants,
we can see the disease that can be treated with the most different medicinal plants is
Snakebite with 74 medicinal plants species. The disease is found to have only one
medicinal plant that is capable of treating is Brain hemorrhage.
Follow the highest is Acute Rheumatic which also can be treated by significantly
different medicinal plants species with 61species. These are the two diseases with the
highest number of medicinal plant species, outstanding number of medicinal plants
compared to the remaining diseases.
The other groups of 4 disease also have quite much species that can treat disease
are Malaria with 26 medicinal plant species, Hepatitis with 26 medicinal plant species;
Detoxify with 24 medicinal plants species and disease of Heart and Blood pressure with 17
species.
The groups of 7 diseases which have the medium number of medicinal plants
species, with 10- 14 species, are Dysentery; Haemorrhoids; Diabetes; Bone pain; Sedative;
Bronchitis and Asthma.
It is worth to noticing that most disease groups have an average number of

medicinal plants, are capable of curing diseases, which are often characterized by external
or frequent symptoms.
From the table of 33 diseases and the number of medicinal plants capable of
treating them, we find that the diseases that can be treated by many medicinal plants are
mostly concentrated in rapidly evolving diseases like malaria, flu, snake bite,
detoxification. On the other hand, more complicated organ diseases, and less external
appearance, with fewer medicinal plants to treat like brain hemorrhage, kidney disease.

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