MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY KADAZANDUSUN COMMUNITIES AROUND CROCKER RANGE

Abstract

A brief account of 50 plant species used by the Kadazandusun communities living around the Crocker Range Sabah, Malaysia is presented here. It is interesting to note the commonality between plants used to treat specific ailments by the Kadazandusun communities here and other indigenous communities of Borneo as previously documented by our own studies. The plants include those used for treating common afflictions such as minor wounds, skin diseases, diarrhea, fever, coughs and malaria. Among the plant species that seem to appear repeatedly in our documentation of medicinal plants in Borneo are Blumea balsamifera for fever, Cassia alata for skin diseases, Centella asiatica for stomachache, Gendarusa vulgaris for general malaise, Nicotiana tabacum as insect repellent, Psidium guajava for diarrhoea, Phyllanthus niruri for malaria, Tinospora crispa for hypertension and Zingiber officinale for rheumatism.