Abstract

An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise have contributed to overweight and public health problems in the last 30 years. Indonesia utilizes medicinal plants combating the growing issue of obesity. The quantitative data analysis was conducted by utilizing the quantitative indexes as follows: relative frequency of citation (RFC), use value (UV), and family use value (FUV). Bray−Curtis similarity, which was analyzed by provinces, ethnic, family, medicinal plants, potion numbers, and traditional healers’ codes data. This study conducted 73 species of medicinal plants from 32 plant families used by 30 ethnic groups in Indonesia. Three species were reported to have at least 0.068 RFC and UV with three citations, namely Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch.Bip, Euphorbia heterophylla L., and Zingiber zerumbet (L.). Roscoe ex Sm. Zingiberaceae had the highest number of species (10 species), and the highest FUV was found for Fagaceae (0.068). The Ratahan and Wandamen clusters, as well as the Dayak Tabuyan and Kanayan Mempawah clusters, had similar knowledge of the use of medicinal plants to control obesity. Traditional healers from 30 ethnicities across eight provinces in Indonesia have been known to use these plants to control obesity. Extensive research can be conducted on widely utilized medicinal plants as anti-obesity plant resources.

Key words: Ethnic-based, Indonesia, Medicinal plant, Overweight