Exploration of the Potential of Weeds as Medicinal Plants in Local Medicine Traditions

Abstract

Herbal medicines come from wild plants as a safe and relatively easy-to-obtain alternative family medicine. Based on ethnobotanical analysis, several weed species have the potential as raw materials for traditional medicines that are used by the community as alternative medicines. The results of interviews with several residents in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency, the community often uses leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds of weeds as raw materials for medicines and are said to be effective in curing certain diseases. South Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia consists of four tribes, namely the Bolango, Gorontalo, Bolaang Mongondow, and Sangihe tribes, and still use weeds as traditional medicine ingredients. South Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi Province has a wealth of traditional medicinal plants that are processed into herbal medicines. The purpose of the study was to obtain data on the types of weeds that have the potential as medicinal plants used by the community in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency including Molibagu, Kombot, and Popodu Villages. The methods used in this study were field observation, interviews with informants, and communities that use weeds as traditional medicinal plants. Data were taken from 3 (three) villages and each village consisted of 5 (five) communities that use weeds as medicinal plants. The results of the interview showed that there were several residents in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency, who often used leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds of weeds as raw materials for medicine and were said to be able to cure certain diseases. 15 types of weeds have the potential as medicinal plants and can be utilized by the community in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency. Village healers and the community in South Bolaang Mongondow Regency still use weeds as a mixture of traditional medicine.