Diverse Medicinal and Ritual Uses of Peganum harmala : Ethnobotanical Insights From the Ishkashim District,Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan)

Abstract

This study explores traditional knowledge and contemporary uses of Peganum harmala in the Ishkashim district of the Western Pamirs, Tajikistan. Based on ethnobotanical fieldwork in eleven villages, it documents diverse medicinal and ritual applications of the plant, rooted in both historical traditions and present-day practices. Twenty-seven interviews revealed twenty-six use categories and over fifty specific applications, including smoke-based fumigation, seed infusions, and sublingual seed use, some of which are previously undocumented. Notably, three uses (“antiallergic,” “gallbladder aid,” and “paralysis aid”) extend existing classifications. The findings highlight both continuity and adaptation in the use of P. harmala under changing social and economic conditions, underscoring its importance in local healthcare and cultural life. They also point to promising directions for future ethnopharmacological research and for the preservation of indigenous knowledge in the Western Pamirs.