Medicinal Plants for Traditional Treatment Used by the Malays in South Bangka Regency, Indonesia

. The people of South Bangka Regency have been well-known for using plants as traditional medicine and applied it in their daily life, but the information about the indigenous medical system the limited written of documentation. This study aimed to describe the types of medicinal herbs, analyze the medicinal herbs used as traditional medicine, and discover the conservational effort practiced by the Malays which is the local ethnic of South Bangka Regency. The study employed a quantitative method with field observation techniques, interviews, and herbs identification. The data were analyzed using the ethnomedicinal quantitative method. The results showed that there were 117 species of medicinal herbs with 57 families, while the most frequently used herb was Areca catechu with the results of UV (0.16), FL (16.22), and RFC (0.004). On the important family value (FIV), the most frequently used herb was the Myrtaceae family with 9 species, followed by Poaceae with 8 species. One of the conservation efforts of medicinal plants is by conducting cultivation to help prevent extinction in their natural habitat.


INTRODUCTION
Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest biodiversity in the world.It has numerous kinds of traditional knowledge which is an important source of inspiration for the community, especially the use of plants as medicine for health problems.Nearly 80% of the world's population depends on plants for their primary health care needs (Ullah et al., 2010).
Based on previous research data, there are about 35,000-70,000 plant species used in traditional medicine worldwide (Shikov et al., 2014), there are almost 10,000 plants used for any use-categories.Indonesia has approximately 30,000 vascular plants.Based on data from the National Food and Drug Administration (BPOM), 283 plant species have been officially registered for national medicine and the rest are still used traditionally (Elfahmi et al., 2014).
Traditional medicinal plants is widely used in health care systems in various developing countries (Giday et al., 2016;Kpodar et al., 2015).Developing countries, especially countries in the Asian region, are the countries with the highest rates of use of plants as medicine both domestically and for export purposes (Bodeker, 2007).Since their approval in 1981, nearly 71% of new drugs have come directly or indirectly from natural products such as medicinal plants (Newman & Cragg, 2012).
Ethnobotany studies are one of the most reliable guides for humans in utilizing natural resources as herbal medicine offered abundantly in nature.Knowledge of this medicinal plant has been passed down from generation to generation through prior knowledge experience.Ethnobotany assessments and documentation of indigenous peoples' ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants can fill gaps in knowledge related to future medicinal discoveries (Umair et al., 2017).
Modern human knowledge about the benefits of plants cannot be separated from the contribution of local knowledge that is spread in various traditional societies.The use of plants as traditional medicine by local people in South Bangka Regency is well known and applied in daily life.The present study reports on the ethnobotanically important resources from the South Bangka Regency and analyzes the indigenous traditional knowledge on the utilization of the most commonly used plants.This research will contribute a lot in providing the useful Henri, et al. / Biosaintifika 14 (1) (2022): 125-134 information on the conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources in the area.

Study Area
South Bangka Regency has an area of 3,607.08 km2, with a population of 205,901 inhabitants in 2018.South Bangka Regency consists of eight subdistricts namely: Payung, Pulau Besar, Simpang Rimba, Toboali, Tukak Sadai, Air Gegas, Lepar Pongok, and Kepulauan Pongok (BPS South Bangka, 2018).Research on the use of medicinal plants was carried out in South Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province from July to October 2019, consisting of 17 villages in eight sub-districts.The village selection technique in each sub-district employed a purposive sampling method which was based on the considerations that most of those who use medicinal plants and have traditional medical knowledge.

Data Collection
Observation was used as a data collection technique through systematic recording of medicinal plants under study.Snowball sampling method was used to select the key informants from the community (Ristoja, 2017).The researcher obtained key informants through information from the village head who knew that the community experienced, was indigenous, and practiced medicine using herbs as medicine.The ethnobotanical information was collected from knowledgeable local people and traditional healers through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires.The plants were classified into various ethnobotanical classes.

Use Value (UV)
The use-value (UV) index assesses the relative importance of each plant species known locally to be used as an herbal remedy.Use-value is calculated using the formula: UV = U/N, where UV is the use-value of a species; U refers to the number of citations per species; and N is the number of informants who reported on the plant species (Samoisy & Mahomoodally, 2016)

Fidelity Level (FL)
FL is used to know the species that are most commonly used to treat based on certain diseases, using the formula: FL= (NP/Nur) x 100, where NP is the informants who rarely used certain plants and had a particular disease; and Nur is the total number of the report on the use of each category for types of disease (Al-Qura'n, 2009).

Informant Consensus Factor (ICF)
ICF serves to analyze levels of plot informants and plants that will be used for each category.ICF is calculated using the formula: ICF = Nur -Nt (Nur -1), where Nur is the total number of a report on the use of each category for types of disease; Nt is the number of species classified by all informants (Gazzaneo et al., 2005).

Relative Frequency Citation (RFC)
RFC is used to determine most plants commonly used and liked.RFC is calculated using the formula: RFC= FC/N (0<RFC<1).This index is obtained by dividing the number of informants mentioning a useful species frequency of citation by the total number of informants in the survey (N) (Tardío & Pardo-De-Santayana, 2008).

Respondent Demographic in South Bangka Regency
The total number of respondents in this study are 37 respondents, consisting of two categories of informants namely traditional medicine (33 people or 89.19%) and local people (four people or 10.81%).The former category consisted of people who know the types of medicinal plants and are also believed to care for other people besides their family.They use traditional medicine in the treatment of prayer which is learned from the elders.Meanwhile, the local people category is applied for those who only know the types of plants medicine and only take care of their family without praying since they only cure minor ailments.Selfmedication or household treatment is an effort made by people to cope with their complaints of illness in using medicinal plants in order to improve health and treat malarial diseases (Pierre et al., 2011).Lesmana et al., (2018) indicated that traditional medicine originated from their ancestors who were passed down from generation to generation and in traditional medicine or traditional healers by reciting prayers and mantras.
The category of sex, there were 32 males (86.49%) and five females (13.51%).Previous study found that male respondents had the highest number 55% (Ribeiro et al., 2017).Another study showed that male respondents dominated, i.e. 70% and female respondents were only 30%; while 52% of the respondents were aged 50 years and above (Baydoun et al., 2015).Based on the category of age, the most dominant respondent's age was >60 years, consisting of 23 people (62.16%), while age of 45-59 years were 11 people (29.73%), and age of >30-45 years were three people (8.11%).People who have knowledge about medicinal plants were mostly in age group of 40-60 years (62.5%)followed by age group >60 years (27.5%).It is considered that they have good knowledge of using medicinal plants in traditional medicine (Al-Fatimi, 2019).
The category of educational background showed that most of the respondents only graduated from elementary school (35 people or 94.59%), while there are only two people graduated from senior high schools (5.41%).Previous study showed that the respondents were illiterate (34%), graduated from elementary school (11%) and junior high or high school (31%), while those who graduated from tertiary education level (24%) were very low (Boudjelal et al., 2013).The educational background of traditional healers or informants interviewed in their research was only up to elementary and secondary school levels.The category of experience in traditional medicine shows that 20 people (54.05%) have been practicing it for 10-20 years, seven people (18.92%) have been practicing for > 20 years, five people (13.51%) have been practicing for 2-5 years, and five people (13.51%) have been practicing for 5-10 years.Practitioners' experience in knowledge about medicinal plants ranged from 35 to 86 years with an average treatment practice of 21-29 years (Panmei et al., 2019).

Utilization of plants as medicine in South Bangka Regency
The results of the analysis on the use of plants as medicine in the South Bangka Regency showed that there are 117 species with 57 families.From the results, Myrtaceae family has 9 species (B.frutescens, E. lepidocarpa, E. polyantha, M. leucadendra, P. guajava, S. aromaticum, S. cumini, S. pycnanthum, S. zeylanicum); while Poaceae family has eight (8) species (B. vulgaris, C. Lacryma-joib, C. Nardus, I. Cylindrica, O. Sativa, P. Abscissum, P. Aciculare, S. officinarum).The Myrtaceae family is a large group of plants which its members are widely known and used by humans since they are easy to grow and commonly found in the tropics.Psidium guajava is included in the Myrtaceae family and the leaves are commonly used for diarrheal diseases.The young P. guajava leaves are directly eaten so that the existing tannin content will not disappear and be taken entirely because P. guajava contains tannins which is abstained genesis.After all, it can frighten mucous membranes (Permatasari et al., 2011).
Poaceae family is a large part of herbaceous plants that are not cultivated and it usually grows wildly in the surrounding of house, such as the roots of B. vulgaris that can be used to treat jaundice and there are also some cultivated species that are used, i.e.O. sativa.In previous studies, sugarcane plants included in the family Poaceae can also be used as a cough medicine for blood, which is part of the root taken from sugar cane (Aminah et al., 2016).
Rubiaceae family which has 5 species were obtained from interviews; Rubiaceae family is cosmopolitan that grows in various habitats (Saleh & Hartana, 2017).
Poaceae family is a large part of herbaceous plants that are not cultivated and it usually grows wildly in the surrounding of house, such as the roots of B. vulgaris that can be used to treat jaundice and a kind of plants of the thatched roofs I. cylindrica which has benefits for treating diseases that can hurt the eyes (Meliki et al., 2013).In the Poaceae family, there are also some cultivated species that are used, i.e.O. sativa.In previous studies, sugarcane plants included in the family Poaceae can also be used as a cough medicine for blood, which is part of the root taken from sugar cane (Aminah et al., 2016).Rubiaceae family which has 5 species were obtained from interviews; Rubiaceae family is cosmopolitan that grows in various habitats (Saleh & Hartana, 2017).
The most widely used plants are A.catechu,A. heterophyllus,and A. crispa. A. catechu,with UV yields (0.16),FL yields (16.22), and RFC yields (0.004).Areca nut plants are used by the community to treat bladder, rich, abdominal swelling, headaches, and stomach.Previous studies show that the fruits from areca plants can be used as a medicine to relieve dizziness due to colds; they are burned and the smokes are inhaled.A. catechu Can also be used to cure worm disease; the fruit is mashed and added with warm water.A. catechu plant flower bunches can also be used as a sore medicine by smoothing the betel flower bunches that have not yet bloomed and then sticking it to the month (Nuryanti et al., 2015).A. heterophyllus and A. crispa with UV (0.14), FL (13.51), and RFC (0.004), A. heterophyllus in the type of tamarind is used by community to treat swollen stomach, tumors, and abdominal pain. A. heterophyllus is used as a breastfeeding medicine for mothers who are breastfeeding; the plant parts used are leaves.
The leaves are taken sufficiently and then cleaned with clean water.Afterwards, the leaves are boiled with enough water.Once it is done, the water used to boil the leaves is drunk.Sometimes it is also used to relieve pain in the body (Safryadi et al., 2017).
The research results show that plants which have high UV values are medicinal plants that have many benefits and are recognized by most respondents.The three plants that have the highest UV value are plants that are often used by the respondents.Medicinal plants that have a low UV value are plants that are not recognized by the respondents and do not have the properties of medicinal plants (Silalahi et al., 2018).Kayani et al. (2015) stated that plants that have high RFC values must be tested biologically to assess and protect their authenticity and should also be prioritized to preserve high plants against values that are often used as medicines.It will threaten plant populations if many people use it without preserving it.Plants with high RFC values must also be further evaluated phytochemically and pharmaceutically to identify medicine discovery (Vitalini et al., 2013).Previous studies show that high UV and RFC values indicate good healing potential for certain diseases.FL value is used to determine the type of plant that is most preferred for certain uses, so that plants with higher FL values are widely used by the community (Butt et al., 2015).
The most common life form consists of 50 species (43.48%) of tree habitus, 30 species (26.09%) of habitus, 24 species (20.87%) of shrub habitus and 11 species (9.57%) of liana habitus.Tree habitus has a high utilization rate compared to other habitus such as the roots and bark.From the results, people use plants as medicine derived from tree habitus because many parts of tree that can be used as medicine such as roots, stems, fruit, flowers, leaves, and bark.Life form at the herbaceous level is estimated that 30% of herbaceous plants are easier to grow (Rahman et al., 2019).

Parts of Plant Used in Medicinal Plants
Figure 1 shows the parts of plants used in medicinal plants in the South Bangka Regency including leaves, roots, root bulbs, stems, fruit, flowers, bark, shoots, etc.The most used part of plant is root since it is very durable and can also be boiled many times until it no longer has tastes.This result is in line with Utami et al. (2019) stating that root is the strongest part that lasts longer than other parts of the plant.The root can also be mixed with other types of medicinal plants.Root plays an important role in absorbing nutrients in the soil which plays a very important role in plant growth.Another popular part of plant commonly used is leaf which is also an important part used by the community in traditional medicine.This result is in line with Henri et al. (2020) stating that around 46% of the leaves from plants can be used by the people of South Bangka Regency as part of early childhood treatment.

Medical Plants Utilization
Figure 2 describes how people of South Bangka Regency use medicinal plants in various kinds, namely: decoction, powder, juice, extract, infusion, crude form, etc. Decoction is taken after being boiled and there is also in the bath after boiling.Hasanah (2016) stated that the processing of most medicinal plants is boiling, since people generally mix them in the form of herbal medicine.The boiling process of medicinal plants can solve all nutritious substances contained in medicinal plants into water (Efremila et al., 2015).
This ethnobotanical survey can assist scientists and researchers in identifying medicinal plants that may be useful in the development of new drugs.Creating this awareness is very important for the younger generation both in terms of sustainable use of plants and the protection of traditional knowledge as a form of conservation of the availability of raw materials as medicines in the future (Henri & Erpandi, 2021).This study was conducted to protect information about the local use of plant species, transfer it to future generations, and provide preliminary information for future studies.

CONCLUSION
Medicinal plants used by the ethnic malays of South Bangka Regency are very diverse.There are 117 species of plants within 57 families used as medicine, Areca catechu is the plant with highest utility value.Roots and leaves are the most common parts widely used by the community.Generally, boiling is the most common process in making medicine from medicinal plants.The communities in South Bangka Regency have abundant medicinal resources and traditional knowledge.However along with the development of global economy, the specialized knowledge of medicine resources are threatened by human activities and natural causes, and associated traditional knowledge is rapidly eroding.So, the present study reinforcing the importance of continuing with ethnobotanical research.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Plant parts used of medicinal plant

Table 1 .
Demographic data of respondents