ETHNOBOTANY AND ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY OF SOME LABIATAE SPECIES

The medicinal plants are still the most popular medicaments available to the majority of the people in the countryside. Herbal medical therapy and self-medication with local herbs are common practices among the cultural minorities in the Philippines.

This paper highlights the local plant materials that have found common use in the traditional healing system. A list of seven (7) plant species belonging to the Family Labiatae together with their local names, botanical nomenclatures and geographical distribution has been provided. The therapeutical indications as well as the details on the preparations and uses of native species or ethnopharmacological uses of the plants are discussed. It is suggested that with sound scientific approach drugs could be made out of these known medicinal plants.