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Research ArticleAn Ethnobotanical Study of the Medicinal Plants Used asAnti-Inflammatory Remedies in Gampaha District,Western Province, Sri Lanka

Mayuri Tharanga Napagoda ,1 Thamudi Sundarapperuma,2 Diroshi Fonseka,2

Sachinthi Amarasiri,2 and Prabath Gunaratna2

1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Galle 80000, Sri Lanka2Allied Health Science Degree Programme, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Galle 80000, Sri Lanka

Correspondence should be addressed to Mayuri �aranga Napagoda; [email protected]

Received 30 November 2017; Revised 18 February 2018; Accepted 15 March 2018; Published 3 June 2018

Academic Editor: Joshua Lambert

Copyright © 2018 Mayuri �aranga Napagoda et al. �is is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work isproperly cited.

�e application of traditional medicinal plants as anti-inflammatory remedies has been practiced in Sri Lanka for thousands ofyears. Although there is a rich reserve of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants, the preservation and the scientific validationof these claims are still in its infancy. �us, the study was carried out in one of the administrative areas of Sri Lanka known asGampaha District to assess the significance and contribution of medicinal plants in inflammatory conditions. �e data werecollected through semistructured and open-ended interviews from 458 volunteers. Ethnobotanical data were analyzed using therelative frequency of citation (RFC), family importance value (FIV), and use value (UV). Out of the total participants, 50.7%claimed the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as fever, cough, asthma, swellings, and painin the joints. A total of 43 medicinal plants belonging to 28 plant families were mentioned, out of which Coriandrum sativum(RFC� 0.23) was the most cited species.�emost cited plant family was Fabaceae, and the family importance value was highest inApiaceae. �e majority of the nonusers of the herbal remedies mentioned that they would shift to herbal products if scientificinformation is available on the efficacy of these products.

1. Introduction

Inflammation is a pathophysiological response to injury,infection, or irritants and is characterized by heat, redness,pain, swelling, and disturbed function of the organs. Sinceancient times, inflammatory disorders and related diseaseshave been treated with plants and plant-derived formula-tions [1]. Over the last two decades, a significant amount ofevidence has emerged indicating that chemically diverseclasses of plant secondary metabolites are of potential in-terest for therapeutic interventions in several inflammatorydiseases. A number of studies revealed the ability of plantextracts or plant secondary metabolites to control the levelsof various inflammatory cytokines or inflammatory medi-ators including IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α [2], NF-κB, NO,iNOS, COX-2 [3], and 5-LO [4].

Plants and their products have been systematically usedin Sri Lanka for treating illnesses for over a thousand years.Among the native flora of Sri Lanka, more than 1400 plantsare used in indigenous medicine [5], and a large number ofplants are extensively used to alleviate the pathologicalconditions associated with inflammation [6]. However, therehas been a dearth of published information on ethnobo-tanical studies on anti-inflammatory remedies within the SriLankan context.

Four systems of traditional medicine have been adoptedin Sri Lanka: Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Deshiya Chi-kitsa. �e Ayurveda and Deshiya Chikitsa systems usemainly plant and herbal preparations for the treatment ofdiseases [7]. Different regions of the country have theirunique traditional medicine systems (known as DeshiyaChikitsa) and practitioner pedigrees. Out of these different

HindawiScientificaVolume 2018, Article ID 9395052, 8 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9395052

mailto:[email protected]://orcid.org/0000-0003-4617-990Xhttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9395052

regions, Gampaha District is considered as the home forseveral well-known traditional practitioners in the country.Although the modern health care facilities are readilyavailable in this area, traditional medicinal practices arequite popular and widely accepted by the people. TenAyurvedic hospitals governed under the Ministry of In-digenous Medicine are located within the district to meetthis demand [8]. erefore, the study area for this researchhas a rich potential for utilization and consumption ofmedicinal plants. However, an in-depth study has not beenpursued yet to assess the signicance and contribution ofmedicinal plants/herbal therapeutics to the day-to-day life ofthe inhabitants of Gampaha District. In order to ll this gapin knowledge, the traditional medicinal uses of plants forinammatory conditions have been documented in the formof an ethnobotanical inventory in order to assess the pop-ularity and usage of medicinal plants in the study area.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area. Gampaha District is located in the WesternProvince of Sri Lanka (Figure 1) and has an area of1,387 km2. e district is divided into 13 divisional secre-tariat divisions, which are further subdivided into 1,177grama niladhari divisions. ere are 1,784 villages, and thetotal population of the district is reported as 2,280,860 [9].According to the geographical location, this district be-longs to the coastal plain and shows plain geographicalcharacteristics in most of the areas and mountainousgeographical characteristics in northern and eastern parts.e forest coverage of the district is estimated as 240.8 ha,and the district contains three isolated natural forest

patches: Horagolla National Park, Maimbulkanda sanc-tuary, and Yakadawala forest reserve [10].

2.2. Ethnobotanical Field Survey and Data Collection.Ethnobotanical information in the study area about the useof plant species for the treatment of inammatory condi-tions was documented from all thirteen divisional secretariatareas, that is, Attanagalla, Mirigama, Minuwangoda,Gampaha, Mahara, Dompe, Ja-Ela, Divulapitiya, Katana,Biyagama, Negombo,Wattala, and Kelaniya.is survey wascarried out from December 2014 to December 2016, and thedata were collected through semistructured and open-endedinterviews using a pretested questionnaire. e question-naire was pretested by administering to a selected group ofthe population with a similar sociocultural background indierent administrative districts of Sri Lanka. e randomsampling method was used to recruit 458 volunteers fromthe general population of the district who were aged above30 years. e participants were selected randomly from a listof households in each divisional secretariat area, and visitswere made to each of those households for data collection.Written informed consent was obtained prior to the study.e number of informants for a species mentioning its useswas assessed and categorized. e questionnaire used tocompile ethnobotanical information comprised the localname, source, part(s) used, method of traditional prepara-tion, and demographic information of the informants suchas age, gender, experience, and educational background.

e ethical approval was obtained from the EthicalReview Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University ofRuhuna, Sri Lanka (permit issued on 15/09/2014). Data wereanalyzed using SPSS Statistics package version 20.

2.3. Plant Specimen Collection and Preservation. Plant spe-cies used for the treatment of inammatory conditions werecollected, dried, preserved, and mounted on herbariumsheets. Botanical names and families were veried using thebook series titled “Flora of Sri Lanka” by one of the authors(MTN), who is a botanist. e botanical names have alsobeen checked with the data available at http://www.theplantlist.org. e specimens were deposited at the Her-barium in the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty ofMedicine, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka.

2.4. Quantitative Analysis of the Ethnobotanical Information.e knowledge of medicinal plant usage was quantitativelyassessed using the relative frequency of citation (RFC),family importance value (FIV), and use value (UV).e RFCand FIV were calculated to quantitatively determine theconsensus between informants on the use of medicinalplants in the region as it gives the local importance ofa species or a family. e RFC was calculated using thestandard method of Vitalini et al. [11] and Savikin et al. [12]:

RFC � FCN(0

�e value of RFC for species and families of medicinalplants is based on the citing percentage of informants forthat particular species and plant family. FC is the number ofinformants who mentioned the species, while N is the totalnumber of informants participating in the study.

�e family importance value (FIV) was calculated bytaking the percentage of informants mentioning the family:

FIV �FC(family)

N× 100, (2)

where FC is the number of informants mentioning thefamily, while N is the total number of informants partici-pating in the study.

�e use value demonstrates the relative importance ofplant species known locally and was determined by thefollowing formula [13, 14]:

UVi � Ui

Ni, (3)

where Ui is the number of use reports described by eachinformer for species i, while Ni is the total number of in-formers describing the specific species i.

3. Results

Out of the total participants, 232 (50.7%) claimed the use ofmedicinal plants for the treatment of inflammatory

conditions such as fever, cough, asthma, joint pain, andswellings. 46.16% have mentioned the reason for their choiceas their belief in the safety and low adverse effects associatedwith the herbal formulations. �e majority of the users(65.91%) claimed that they use these herbal preparations atthe initial stage of a disease before using any other medi-cations, while 18.94% have mentioned the simultaneoususage of other medications. A considerable proportion(12.12%) claimed that the herbal therapeutics will be used asa last resort, when other treatment methods have failed.�ese people diagnose the inflammatory conditions by theirsigns and symptoms rather than specific laboratory tests.�eknowledge of the herbal remedies had transferred throughgenerations, while the media have also contributed inpromoting the usage of herbal therapeutics (Table 1).

A total of 43 medicinal plants belonging to 28 plantfamilies were mentioned, out of which Coriandrum sat-ivum (RFC � 0.23) was the most cited species, followed byCoscinium fenestratum (RFC � 0.13) and Adhatoda vasica(RFC � 0.12). �e most cited plant family was Fabaceae,and the family importance value was highest in Apiaceae(23.58%) (Table 2). �e most dominant life form of thespecies reported includes herbs (39.5%) (Figure 2). �emost frequently used plant part was leaves (33.3%) (Fig-ure 3), followed by twigs/stems/barks/bulbs/rhizomes(26.7%). Medicinal plants used in folk herbal remedieswere prepared and administered in various forms, and themost common preparation method was infusion (31.4%)(Figure 4). �e percentage of oral administration (47%) of

Table 1: Statistics on the usage of herbal therapeutics as anti-in-flammatory remedies.

Parameter Percentage(%)1. Demographic data of regular users1.1. GenderMale 39.28Female 60.72

1.2. Age group (years)30–45 39.1746–60 44.1761–75 8.33>75 8.33

1.3. Educational backgroundUniversity degree/diploma and above 12.18Up to university entrance exam∗ 37.39Ordinary-level education and below∗∗ 46.95No schooling 3.48

2. Source of information/knowledgeFrom ancestors/family members 60.42Neighbours/friends 13.89Doctors/traditional physicians 7.64Media 13.19Own experience 4.86

3. Reason for usageSafe/less side effects 46.16Previous success 35.67Easy access to the plant materials 6.29High cost of other treatment methods 3.49Nonavailability of modern health care facilities 0Failure of other treatment methods 8.39

∗�e highest educational qualification which can be obtained at school(13 years of school education); ∗∗1–11 years of school education.

Table 2: Family importance value (FIV).

Family FIVAcanthaceae 11.35Amaryllidaceae 0.22Apiaceae 23.58Asclepiadaceae 0.22Asphodelaceae 0.44Bignoniaceae 0.87Clusiaceae 0.44Combretaceae 0.44Crassulaceae 0.22Cyperaceae 0.44Euphorbiaceae 1.31Fabaceae 3.49Lamiaceae 0.44Lauraceae 0.65Loganiaceae 0.44Malvaceae 0.87Meliaceae 0.44Menispermaceae 13.53Molluginaceae 0.22Moringaceae 0.87Piperaceae 1.31Poaceae 0.44Rutaceae 13.32Sapindaceae 0.22Sapotaceae 0.87Solanaceae 10.92Verbenaceae 3.49Zingiberaceae 12.23

Scientifica 3

herbal preparation was almost higher than that of externalor topical application (43.2%) and inhalation (9.8%). Mostof the crude drugs were prepared from single plant species;however, combinations of multiple species were also re-ported, while some preparations were administered along

with honey, sugar, sugar candy, salt, coconut oil, and so on.Although various commercial preparations of herbal originwere mentioned by some of the participants, these were notconsidered during the data analysis. e summary of themedicinal plant species used in Gampaha District to treatinammatory conditions is given in Table 3.

Majority of the people belonging to the nonuser category(70.9%) had used some kind of herbal therapeutics at somestage of their lives and mentioned that the usage was dis-continued due to the diªculty in preparation (24.69%) andcollection of plant materials (22.22%). Other reasons thathindered the usage of herbal preparations have beenidentied as a relatively long period of time taken for healingand the unpleasant smell and the taste. Some of these peoplehave mentioned that they do not have any faith as the ef-fectiveness of the herbal formulations is not scienticallyproven. Interestingly, 71.43% of the nonusers mentionedthat they would shift to herbal products if the eªcacy ofthese products could be scientically validated.

4. Discussion

Sri Lanka has a rich source of medicinal plants distributed indierent geographical regions, and a large section of the SriLankan population still rely on traditional plant medicinesthat are abundantly available, economical, and believed to beof little or no side eects. Indigenous knowledge of theremedies has been transferred from one generation to thenext through traditional healers, knowledgeable elders, orordinary people, mostly without any written documents.

Leaves (33.3%)Roots (6.7%)Twigs/stems/barks/bulbs/rhizomes (26.7%)

Seeds/fruits (22.2%)Whole plant (11.1%)

Figure 3: Plant parts used in herbal preparations.

Infusion (31.4%)Poultice (23.6%)Paste (11.8%)Smoke (9.8%)

Oil (7.8%)Decoction (7.8%)Others: powder, porridge,juice, and salad (7.8%)

Figure 4: Mode of utilization reported to treat inammatoryconditions.

Herbs (39.5%)Shrubs (18.6%)

Trees (32.6%)Climbers (9.3%)

Figure 2: Life form of the plants used as anti-inammatoryremedies.

4 Scientica

Tabl

e3:

Medicinal

plantspeciesused

inGam

paha

District

totreatinfl

ammatorycond

ition

s.

Family

Scientificname

Vernacular

name

Life

form

Partsused

Preparation

Inflammatory

cond

ition

streated

RFC

UV

Repo

rted

usagein

the

literature[6]

Vou

cher

specim

ennu

mber

Acanthaceae

Adh

atodavasicaNees

Adh

atho

daSh

rub

Leaves,twigs,

roots

Infusio

n,po

ultice

Swellin

gsin

joints,

cough,

asthma,catarrh

0.12

2.56

Diarrhea,fever,asthma

MNWP-01

Amaryllid

aceae

Allium

sativ

umL.

Sudu

lunu

Herb

Bulbs

Infusio

nAsthm

a0.002

1.0

Asthm

a,gout

MNWP-02

Apiaceae

Coria

ndrum

sativ

umL.

Koththamalli

Herb

Seeds

Infusio

nCold,

fever,asthma

0.23

2.59

Inflammation

MNWP-03

Asclepiadaceae

Calotropisgigantea

(L.)

Dryand.

Wara

Shrub

Who

leplant

Poultice

Sprains,sw

ellin

gs0.002

1.0

Skin

diseases,leprosy,

jaun

dice,sinus

trou

bles

MNWP-04

Aspho

delaceae

Aloevera

(L.)Bu

rm.f.

Kom

arika

Herb

Leaves

Paste

Cou

gh,a

sthm

a0.004

1.0

Cou

ghMNWP-05

Bign

oniaceae

Oroxylum

indicum

(L.)Kurz

�otila

Tree

Barks

Poultice

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.009

1.0

Rheumatic

swellin

gs,

fractures

MNWP-06

Clusia

ceae

Calophyllum

inophyllu

mL.

Dom

baTree

Seeds

Oil,

poultice

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.0

Chron

icrheumatism

,sw

ellin

gsin

joints

MNWP-07

Com

bretaceae

Term

inalia

chebulaRe

tz.

Aralu

Tree

Fruits

Powder

Fever

0.004

1.0

Fever,eyediseases,p

iles,

chronicdysentery

MNWP-08

Crassulaceae

Kalan

choe

laciniata(L.)DC.

Akkapana

Herb

Leaves

Infusio

nCou

gh,a

sthm

a,cold

0.002

1.5

Urinary

diseases,diarrhea,

dysentery,

cough,

cold

MNWP-09

Cyperaceae

Cyperusrotund

usL.

Kaladuru

Herb

Who

leplant

Infusio

nFever

0.004

1.0

Fever,bron

chitis

MNWP-10

Euph

orbiaceae

Phyllanthu

sem

blicaL.

Nelli

Tree

Fruits

Poultice

Redn

essandsw

ellin

gsin

theeye

0.004

1.0

Inflammationin

theeye,

gono

rrhea,

diarrhea,

urinarydiseases

MNWP-11

Ricinu

scommun

isL.

Enderu

Shrub

Leaves

Poultice

Headache,jointp

ains,

swellin

gs0.009

1.5

Headache,bo

ils,

rheumatism

MNWP-12

Fabaceae

Glycyrrhiza

glabra

L.Welmi

Herb

Twigs

Infusio

nCatarrh,a

sthm

a0.022

1.4

Laryng

itis,bron

chitis

MNWP-13

Pterocarpu

ssantalinus

L.f.

Rath-handu

nTree

Stem

sPa

ste

Headache,pain,

swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.5

Rheumatism

,insectb

ites,

headache

MNWP-14

Tamarindu

sindica

L.Siyabala

Tree

Leaves

Paste

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.006

1.0

Boils,rheum

atism

MNWP-15

Desmodium

triflorum

(L.)

DC.

Und

upiyali

Herb

Leaves

Paste

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.0

Ulcers,dysentery,

inflammation

MNWP-16

Trigon

ella

foenum

-graecum

L.Uluhal

Herb

Seeds

Poultice

Pain

injoints

0.002

1.0

Dyspepsia,d

iarrhea,

rheumatism

MNWP-17

Lamiaceae

Plectran

thus

zeylan

icus

Benth.

Iriweriya

Herb

Roots

Infusio

n,decoction

Fever

0.004

1.0

Fever,cough,

asthma

MNWP-18

Lauraceae

Cinn

amom

umcamphora(L.)

J.Presl

Kapuru

Tree

Fruits

Oil

Fever,sw

ellin

gsin

joints,asthm

a0.002

1.5

Inflammation,

bruises,

sprains,who

opingcough,

asthma

MNWP-19

Litsea

glutinosa(Lou

r.)C.B.

Rob.

Bomi

Tree

Barks

Paste

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.0

Diarrhea,dysentery,

sprains,bruises,

rheumatism

MNWP-20

Loganiaceae

Strychno

spotatorum

L.f.

Ingini

Tree

Seeds

Paste

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.0

Eyediseases,d

iarrhea

MNWP-21

Malvaceae

Sida

acutaBu

rm.f.

Babila

Herb

Roots

Infusio

n,decoction

Fever

0.009

1.0

Fever,im

potency,

rheumatism

MNWP-22

Scientifica 5

Tabl

e3:

Con

tinued.

Family

Scientificname

Vernacular

name

Life

form

Partsused

Preparation

Inflammatory

cond

ition

streated

RFC

UV

Repo

rted

usagein

the

literature[6]

Vou

cher

specim

ennu

mber

Meliaceae

Azadirachta

indica

A.Ju

ss.

Koh

omba

Tree

Leaves

Poultice

Pain

injoints

0.004

1.0

Catarrh,leprosy

andskin

diseases,rheum

atism

,wou

nds,ulcers

MNWP-23

Menisp

ermaceae

Coscinium

fenestratum

(Goetgh.)Colebr.

Veniwelgata

Woo

dyclim

ber

Stem

sInfusio

nFever,cough,

asthma

0.13

2.43

Fever,tetanu

s,dressin

gwou

nds,ulcers

MNWP-24

Tino

sporacordifo

lia(W

illd.)

Miers

Rasakida

Clim

ber

Stem

sInfusio

nFever

0.009

1.0

Fever,skin

diseases,

diabetes,d

ysentery,

rheumatism

MNWP-25

Molluginaceae

Mollugo

cerviana

(L.)Ser.

Pathpadagum

Herb

Who

leplant

Infusio

nFever,asthma

0.065

1.63

Fever,skin

diseases,

gono

rrhea

MNWP-26

Moringaceae

Moringa

oleifera

Lam.

Murun

gaSh

rub

Barks

Infusio

n,po

ultice

Asthm

a,sw

ellin

gsin

pain

0.009

1.5

Asthm

a,gout,

rheumatism

,rem

edyfor

snakebite

poiso

ning

MNWP-27

Piperaceae

Piperlongum

L.�

ippili

Herb

Fruit

Infusio

n,decoction

Fever,asthma,

cough

0.013

1.3

Fever,cough,

bron

chitis

MNWP-28

Poaceae

Eleusin

eindica

(L.)Gaertn.

Bela-tana

Herb

Who

leplant

Poultice

Swellin

gs,sprains

0.004

1.5

Sprainsanddislo

catio

nsMNWP-29

Rutaceae

Aeglemarmelos

(L.)Corrêa

Beli

Tree

Leaves,roo

tsDecoctio

nAsthm

a,fever

0.009

1.5

Fever,asthma,

dysentery,

piles,dyspepsia

MNWP-30

Atalantia

ceylan

ica(A

rn.)

Oliv.

Yakinarang

Shrub

Leaves

Infusio

n,sm

oke

Cou

gh,cold,

breathing

difficulties,a

sthm

a0.01

2.36

Catarrh,b

ronchitis

and

otherchestc

omplaints,

fever

MNWP-31

Citrus

aurantium

L.Em

bul-D

odam

Tree

Fruits

Juice

Cou

gh,todraw

out

phlegm

0.026

1.25

Chron

iccough

MNWP-32

Citrus

aurantifo

lia(C

hristm.)

Swingle

Dehi

Tree

Leaves

Smok

eCou

gh,h

eadache

0.08

1.11

Cou

gh,stomachache,

cleaning

wou

nds,

dysentery

MNWP-33

Sapind

aceae

Cardiospermum

halicacabum

L.Wel-penela

Clim

ber

Who

leplant

Infusio

nSw

ellin

gsin

joints

0.002

1.0

Rheumatism

,dropsy,

earache,bron

chitis

MNWP-34

Sapo

taceae

Madhu

calongifo

lia(J.Koenig

exL.)J.F

.Macbr.

Mee

Tree

Seeds

Oil,

poultice

Swellin

gsandpain

injoints

0.009

1.5

Fractures,rheumatism

,snakebites

MNWP-35

Solanaceae

Solanu

mxanthocarpum

Schrad.&

H.W

endl.

Katuw

elbatu

Herb

Leaves

Infusio

nFever,cough,

asthma

0.087

2.22

Cou

gh,asthm

a,colic

fever,toothache

MNWP-36

Solanu

msuratte

nseBu

rm.f.

Ela-batu

Herb

Leaves

Porridge,

smok

eCou

gh,asthm

a0.013

1.67

Rheumatism

,cou

gh,

diarrhea

MNWP-37

Solanu

mtrilobatum

L.Wel-�

ithbatu

Shrub

Leaves

Porridge,

salad

Prolon

gedcough

0.009

1.0

Cou

ghMNWP-38

Verbenaceae

Lantan

acamaraL.

Gandapana

Shrub

Leaves

Smok

eFever,cough,

asthma

0.009

2.25

Asthm

a,fever,cough

MNWP-39

Vitexnegund

oL.

Nika

Shrub

Leaves

Smok

e,paste

Swellin

gsin

joints,

cough,

asthma,

fever

0.026

1.92

Rheumatic

swellin

gs,

headache,catarrh,asthm

aMNWP-40

Zing

iberaceae

Alpinia

galanga(L.)Willd.

Araththa

Herb

Rhizom

eInfusio

nFever

0.026

1.0

Rheumatism

,bronchitis

MNWP-41

Zingiber

officina

leRo

scoe

Inguru

Herb

Rhizom

esInfusio

nFever,asthma,

cough

0.092

1.69

Cold,cough,fever,asthma

MNWP-42

Curcum

azedoaria

(Christm.)

Roscoe

Haran-kaha

Herb

Rhizom

esPo

ultice

Swellin

gsin

joints

0.004

1.0

Sprains,derm

atitis,

wou

ndhealing

MNWP-43

6 Scientifica

However, factors such as cultural change, particularly theinfluence of modernization, lack of written documents,deforestation, environmental degradation, and lack of in-terests shown by the younger generations impose a seriousthreat to the enhancement of existing knowledge andpractices of medicinal plants. �us, ethnobotanical studiesand subsequent conservationmeasures are urgently requiredto prevent the loss of valuable indigenous knowledge ofmedicinal plants. Furthermore, the importance of ethno-botanical research has been increasing, since potentialsources of drugs could disappear in the future as a result ofthe rapid loss of biodiversity. �is is the first report of an in-depth ethnobotanical study in Sri Lanka, and it enabled us tomake some contribution in the preservation of the tradi-tional systems of medicine by proper documentation andidentification of specimens.

Owing to the high global prevalence of pathophysio-logical conditions linked with inflammation, a substantialnumber of ethnobotanical studies have specifically beenfocused on assessing the indigenous knowledge of tradi-tional anti-inflammatory remedies. �e study conducted infive local government areas in Ogun State of Nigeria has ledto the identification of 83 different plant species that havebeen used in the management of inflammatory diseases [15].A total of 34 species in 32 genera and 22 families wereencountered during the field study conducted to gatherethnobotanical information on traditional medicinal plantsexclusively used for the management of inflammation-related ailments by the Khampti community of ArunachalPradesh, India [16]. Despite the wide utility of medicinalplants for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, sur-prisingly, no such studies have been conducted in Sri Lankayet. Furthermore, there is a rich reserve of indigenousknowledge of medicinal plants due to a large number ofpractitioners of traditional medicine; however, the scientificvalidation of theses traditional claims is still at its infancy.

�e study revealed that the medicinal uses of some of theplant species mentioned by the participants have not beendocumented in the literature, for example, the usage ofCalotropis gigantea for sprains/swellings and Strychnospotatorum for swellings in the joints. �e medicinal plantswith a higher frequency of citation as determined from thecurrent study would signpost the probable existence ofvaluable phytochemical compounds, and it requires a searchfor prospective new drugs to cure many inflammatorydisorders. �erefore, the effectiveness and the safety of theidentified plants will be assessed by phytochemical andpharmacological investigations in the follow-up studies.�erefore, the present study based on indigenous knowledgeof medicinal plants would contribute towards the nationaldevelopment agenda of the country, a subarea of the Na-tional Research and Development Framework (NRDF) in SriLanka [17].

However, there are certain limitations of the currentstudy, which need to be improved to conduct a morecomprehensive island-wide study in the future. For example,when the households were selected randomly from a list,households with strong beliefs on herbal medicine couldhave been overlooked as well as households who profusely

refuse such remedies. Furthermore, only the people who canspeak English or Sinhala have been recruited to this study;therefore, it may not represent the whole population of thecountry. If the above limitations could be overcome, then itwould enable the documentation and preservation of in-digenous knowledge of herbal medicine restricted amongdifferent segments of the Sri Lankan population.

5. Conclusion

�is study reports the first ethnobotanical survey in Sri Lanka.Among 43 medicinal plants belonging to 28 reported plantfamilies, Fabaceae was the most cited plant family. �e mostpopular medicinal plants among the inhabitants in GampahaDistrict include Coriandrum sativum, Coscinium fenestratum,and Adhatoda vasica. �e investigations revealed that theindigenous herbal medicines are still common among thelocal communities, and even the nonusers are ready to shift toherbal products if systematic scientific information is avail-able. �erefore, the present study signifies the necessity of thescientific validation of herbal remedies.

Abbreviations

RFC: Relative frequency of citationFIV: Family importance valueUV: Use value.

Ethical Approval

�e ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical ReviewCommittee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, SriLanka.

Consent

Written informed consent was obtained prior to the study.

Conflicts of Interest

�e authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this article.

Acknowledgments

“Faculty of Medicine-Research Grant 2015” from the Uni-versity of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, is gratefully acknowledged.

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