Ethnobotany of traditional cosmetics among the Oromo Women in Madda Walabu District, Bale Zone, Southeastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract The use of plants as natural cosmetics has been perceived as a source of welfare. However, the plants and the associated indigenous knowledge are continuously depleting globally. The study thus aimed to investigate the ethnobotany of traditional cosmetics among Oromo women in the Madda Walabu District of Bale Zone, Southeastern Oromia, Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical information such as plant species used for traditional cosmetics, method of preparation, and administration were collected among 150 Oromo women using semi-structured questionnaires. Thereafter, quantitative ethnobotanical indices, including the Informant consensus factor (ICF), and the level of fidelity (Fl) were computed to determine the most important species used by the women. A total of 48 plant species belonging to 31 families used as sources of traditional cosmetics were recorded among Oromo women in the district. The most frequent family was Fabaceae followed by Bigonaceae, Burseraceae, and Combretaceae. Most of the plants used as traditional cosmetics were trees, followed by shrubs and herbs in life forms Leaves are the most commonly used plant part in traditional cosmetics followed by barks; and maceration and decoction are the most common preparation methods applied to prepare plant-based traditional cosmetics. Traditional cosmetics are applied to various parts of the body and are mainly administered topically while oral infusions were not common. All categories had high ICF values, ranging from 0.80 to 0.98. The highest ICF value was found for skin treatment, followed by the hair, and Face mask. Overall, Commiphora habessinica,Gnidia stenophylla, Kalanchoe lanceolata, Mimusops kummel, Sesamothamnus rivae, Terminalia brownii, T. laxiflora, Acacia drepanolobium, A. mellifera and Aloe citrina were the most frequently cited plants by Oromo women for traditional cosmetic purposes in the study area. However, there will be a need to conduct laboratory-based experiments to establish the efficacy and safety of these documented plants using relevant biological assays.