1442 Advances in Environmental Biology, 6(4): 1442-1449, 2012 ISSN 1995-0756 This is a refereed journal and all articles are professionally screened and reviewed ORIGINAL ARTICLE Corresponding Authors Lilybeth F. Olowa, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City E-mail: lilybetholowa@gmail.com, cgdemayo@gmail.com Medicinal Plants Used by the Higaonon Tribe of Rogongon, Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines Lilybeth F. Olowa, Mark Anthony J. Torres, Eduardo C. Aranico and Cesar G. Demayo Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City Lilybeth F. Olowa, Mark Anthony J. Torres, Eduardo C. Aranico and Cesar G. Demayo: Medicinal Plants Used by the Higaonon Tribe of Rogongon, Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines ABSTRACT This paper presents the ethnobotanical study conducted in Rogongon in Iligan City, Philippines on the indigenous medicinal plant utilization and healthcare practices among the Higaonon tribe. Informal interviews, using a semi-structured questionnaire, involving 65 informants (ages 30-78 years old) provided information on 62 plant species of medicinal value belonging to 34 families and 56 genera. Leaves were the most widely used plant parts which were commonly prepared by boiling in water (decoction) and administered orally. Stomach ailments, respiratory diseases, wounds or cuts, and muscle pains or over fatigue in women were the most common health problems treated by the identified medicinal plants. Some of the medicinal plants enumerated in the study were also utilized by other indigenous groups in the Philippines. Such widespread use of these plants by different groups could to a certain extent be attributed to their efficacy. Key words: ethnobotany, Higaonon, medicinal plants, indigenous groups Introduction Since the beginning of human civilization people have used plants as medicine. The earliest uses are found in Babylonia circa 1770 BC in the code of Hammurabi and in ancient Egypt circa 1550 BC [15]. The relationship between man and plants is extremely important because plants affect every aspect of man’s existence by providing a continuous and infinite source of varying materials such as food, timber, fibers, dyes, tools, and many others [2]. Popular knowledge of plants used by humans is based on thousands of years experience. By “trial and error,” people learned how to recognize and use plants, including those with a magic-religious function. Until the middle of the 19 th century, plants were the main therapeutic agents used by humans and even today their role in medicine is still relevant [3]. Many of today’s drugs have been derived from plant resources. In recent years, work on ethnobotanical knowledge worldwide has increased especially in some parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Despite many ethnobotanical studies were performed all over the world, in the Philippines, ethnobotanical documents are relatively few, with some focusing on well known indigenous groups like the Pinatubo Negritoes, the Tasadays in Mindanao, the Itawes of Cagayan, and the Ibaloi of Benguet province [9,5,16,11,1]. The Higaonon tribe is one of the 18 Lumad (a group of Non-Moro Indigenous Communities in Mindanao) ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines. Lumads comprise 12 to 13 million or 18% of the Philippine population and are divided into 110 ethno-linguistic groups living in hinterlands, forests, lowlands, and coastal areas. The Higaonon tribe is located on the provinces of Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental, and Rogongon (in Iligan City). Most Higaonons still have a rather traditional way of living where farming is the most important economic activity [14]. The term Higaonon is a combination of the root words: ‘HIGA’ which means ‘to live’ or ‘to lay in bed,’ ‘GAON’ which means ‘mountain,’ and ‘ONON’ which means ‘people’. Thus people who live in the mountains─ our Higaonon spiritual leaders and scholars─ defined as “People in the Living Mountains” (UNAHI Mindanao Inc.). The Higaonons have lived and continue to live in their ancestral forest homes, undisturbed, managing the forest in a natural way, and protecting it against destruction by loggers who started cutting their way into the forested homeland more than sixty years ago[13]. This present paper was conducted to document the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plant utilization and healthcare practices among the Higaonon tribe of Rogongon, Iligan City. Nowadays, indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants is fast