ASIAN JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY Volume 5, Number 2, November 2022 E-ISSN: 2580-4510 Pages: 130-137 DOI: 10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y050206 Ethnobotanical survey and conservation of the indigenous plants used for traditional orthopedic care practices in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Nigeria HINMIKAIYE S. OLATOKUNBO 1 , MARY K. OLANIPEKUN 2,♥ , OBEMBE O. MICHAEL 2 1 Federal University Otuoke. Bayelsa State, Nigeria 2 Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Ekiti State University. Ekiti State, Nigeria. Tel. +234-8037252776,  email: mary.olanipekun@eksu.edu.ng Manuscript received: 6 April 2022. Revision accepted: 20 November 2022. Abstract. Olatokunbo HS, Olanipekun MK, Michael OO. 2022. Ethnobotanical survey and conservation of the indigenous plants used for traditional orthopedic care practices in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Nigeria. Asian J Ethnobiol 5: 130-137. The practices of the trado-orthopedic system of healing in all forms among indigenous healers are extensively linked to plant resources. We investigated the plant species exploited among folks involved in traditional orthopedic care services in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Nigeria. The district was delineated into three Local Government Areas (LGAs). Information on the plant species used for traditional orthopedic services was fetched by an open-ended conversation with 150 respondents across 15 communities in the LGAs. The respondents are mostly women, 117 (78%), while 33 (22%) are men. The adults 60 (52.67%) years and above showed more interest in using traditional medicine than the younger ones. The young people considered traditional medicine superstitious and used by uneducated or poor people. Thirty-nine (39) plant species in thirty (30) different families were accessed as species used for bone healing in the area. Thirty-two (82%) species of the plants were found on the scale of abundance, while seven of the species (18%) accessed were rare in occurrence. The plants were used as food, timber, and medicine; the highest citations occurred in Malvaceae and Amaranthaceae families, with three species each. Different sections of the plants were exploited for treatment options ranging from bone hardening to pain reliever, fester prevention and swelling, to pushing dislocated bones back in position. Physical examinations and oral interviews are major tools among TOCPs in the diagnostic test to ascertain the level of casualty such as deformity, the inability of the limb to act, and shortened limb, among others. Also, the extraction pattern, which was either predatory or annihilative, was noted. Given the preceding, plants for sustainable use of the species were proposed. Moreover, we recommended that further research into the efficacy and safety use of the species in treating fracture and bone-related ailments are taken on. Keywords: Abundance, Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, bone healing, conservation, medicinal plants, traditional orthopedic care INTRODUCTION The roles of plant resources in human society are manifold; aside from their basic uses for food and shelter, they are also being exploited as a suitable material for medicine, especially in rural areas (Tilahun and Moa 2018; Gaddy 2020; Ihinmikaye and Akinjagunla 2020; Az-Zahra et al. 2021). Ethnomedicine, a branch of botanical research that deals with the relationships between indigenous people and the plant community exploited in folk medicine to maintain health, prevent and treats physical and mental sicknesses based on theories, folk beliefs, and experiences (Gureje et al. 2018; Suchita 2019). There is medicine in plants. Plants show healing effects through different mechanisms like boosting the immune system, decreasing bacterial count, modulation wound and fracture healing, remodeling fibrin-rich granulation tissue, improving collagen deposition, increasing fibroblasts and fibrocytes, etc. (Sheen and Garla 2019). The economic benefits of the use and the development of indigenous medicines from medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases, such as back pains, chicken pox, infections, gonorrhea, syphilis, stroke, diarrhea, wound healing, and skin diseases, among others, were reported to be among the illnesses that traditional healers can treat (Tugume et al. 2016; Aziz et al. 2017; Tewelde et al. 2017; Kidane et al. 2018). The potency, relevance, and use of herbal medicine result from the inherent bioactive ingredients present in medicinal plants when used as herbal remedies (Adedeji et al. 2018). Therefore, the practice of traditional medicine, especially in remote areas, plays a notable role in the prevention and healing of people's health, as reported by Liu et al. (2009), Ahmad et al. (2014), Tugume et al. (2016), Tewelde et al. (2017), Aziz et al. (2017), and Kidane et al. (2018). It was estimated that 3.5 billion people in the developing world depend on medicinal plants as part of their primary health care (Balick and Cox 1996; Ahmad et al. 2014; Olanipekun et al. 2020). That was corroborated by the reports of WHO that 80% of the world's inhabitants, especially in developing countries, depend on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare needs (Bannerman et al. 1983; Aziz et al. 2017). Unfortunately, synthetic drugs and access to high-quality orthopedic care in the hospital are not well available in rural areas, especially in the study areas. Therefore, treating Musculoskeletal and bone fractures injuries is usually done using herbal medicine with plants. That could also be because of the high cost of modern medicine compared to