ABSTRACT
Skin ailments affect individuals of different age groups and cause damage to human health. Skin disorders constitute 34% of all occupational diseases. The objective of this chapter is to elucidate ethnopharmacological research on medicinal plants and the significance of the use of medicinal plants for treating skin disorders. Ethnobotanical data were gathered from 180 participants through semi-structured interviews. In this study, 15 medicinal plant species from nine families are described, providing brief information on their botanical name, family, synonyms, English name, flowering period, distribution, altitude, life form, habitat, phytochemical toxicity, mode of utilization, botanical description, and the part used for treating the dermal disorders. The most documented families in the study are the Lamiaceae and the Asteraceae representing 48% of documented species. Leaves were the most commonly used plant parts in the herbal medicines. The most frequently used herbal preparation is a decoction. Such studies provide clues for selecting suitable plant species for future pharmacological and phytochemical analysis with reference to treatment of skin diseases.
