European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED TO TREAT DIARRHEA IN THE CIBATU REGION, PURWAKARTA, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA

Herdiyansah, Shelina Tri Ananda, Fhisna Ayu Faradina, Azhar Atiiqoh, Revatania Putri Khoirunnisa, Rafly Izza Pirdaus, Dedeh Deswita, Farras Farisha Maghfira, Dewi Hartati, Rifki Abdilah, Adelia Putri Pratiwi, Ivan Yusup Bastian, Nurhabibah, Rida Nazah, Reffa Witny Aoulia, Lena Rokana Mende Bancin, Maulana Yusuf Alkandahri*

ABSTRACT

Diarrhea is a cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in children. Patients with diarrhea have been suffering from limited treatment options due to poor drug tolerance, side effect, and multi-drug resistance to almost all the current drug treatments. Therefore, it is important to search for a new therapeutic medicine that can effectively prevent the disease and safe. This research aims to document and preserve the use of ethnomedicinal to treat diarrhea by communities in the Cibatu Region, Purwakarta, West Java, Indonesia. Fieldwork was carried out from April to May 2026 using direct interviews, questionnaires and discussions. Plant species are identified based on standard taxonomic methods, flower morphological characteristics, and where possible, using samples for comparison, as well as consultation with experts and the literature. The plant types obtained were grouped into families according to the Cronquist classification system. Plant names were checked against the Plant List (www.plantlist.org) and the International Plant Name Index (www.ipni.org). This research reports that there are 30 plant species commonly used by people in the Cibatu Region for diarrhea treatment. Among the various plant parts used, leaves (63.3%) are most frequently used in making medicines, followed by rhizomes (20%), fruit (10%), stems, and rhizomes (3.3% respectively). Meanwhile, the preparation methods most frequently used were decoction (53.3%) and infusion (46.7%). The results of this research confirm that people in the Cibatu Region still rely heavily on medicinal plants for their health care system, especially for the treatment of diarrhea with the most frequently used parts of the leaves and their use in decoctions and infusions.

Keywords: Traditional medicine, Ethnomedicinal plants, Cibatu Region, Diarrhea.