Exploration of the Use of Traditional Herbs to Overcome Cough and Cold in Three Provinces of East Java Province

This study is aimed at documenting traditional practices in the use of medicinal plants to overcome cough and cold in three selected regions of East Java Province, by establishing the relative significance, consensus, and scope of all medicinal plants used. The survey on the use of medicinal plants was conducted in one subdistrict in each of the three selected regions in East Java Province, Indonesia. Ethnomedicine data were collected through semistructured interviews, group discussions, and guided field visits from 111 informants. Plant importance is calculated using indices such as use report (UR), family importance value (FIV), and use value (UV). A total of 32 traditional herbs for the treatment of coughs and 20 traditional herbs for the treatment of colds, made of 25 species belonging to 21 genera from 15 families, have been identified as having ethnomedicine significance. The highest FIV (63.96) in the treatment of coughs and colds was reported for Zingiberaceae. The most commonly cited types of medicinal plants are Kaempferia galanga (27 UR; 0.27 UV) for the treatment of coughs and Zingiber officinale (34 UR; 0.486 UV) for the treatment of colds. The findings of this study show the rich tradition of using medicinal plants and cultural knowledge of local communities in three selected regions of East Java Province. Thus, for the potential management and conservation strategy of plant genetic resources, recording traditional knowledge about medicinal plants and their practices is very important. This legacy of awareness about medicinal plants will pave the way for future drug discovery to improve global health care.