THE ANTONINUS JOURNAL

Abstract

The Philippines, as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world and a home to more than 110 ethno-linguistic groups, still practices traditional folk medicine. This study aims to examine the aspects of traditional medicine practice and assess the conservation status, as well as the diversity of the medicinal plants used by the tribes of Luzon. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to systematically review ethnobotanical literature on medicinal plants used by indigenous groups in Luzon, Philippines. Our search across databases such as PubMed/ NCBI, ScienceDirect/EBSCO, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Philippine Journal of Science yielded 98 articles, with three studies meeting the final inclusion criteria. Our data extraction process focused on ethnomedicinal plants, tribes, and their therapeutic uses, using values that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). Our study identified 255 ethnomedicinal plant species across 65 families, with 11 species common to all tribes. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part (48.29%) due to their bioactive properties and accessibility while drinking herbal decoctions was the most common mode of administration (49.52%). The general and unspecified disease category had the highest Informant Consensus Factor (ICF = 0.24), suggesting broad traditional knowledge. In contrast, categories like ear and eye diseases had low representation, indicating potential gaps in ethnobotanical research. This study highlights the rich ethnobotanical knowledge of Luzon’s indigenous tribes, documenting ethnomedicinal plants across 65 families. The findings underscore the urgent need for conservation and further research on these plants to preserve traditional knowledge, ensure sustainable use, and, importantly, explore their potential for new drug development, which could significantly contribute to global health.