Traditional Uses of Medicinal Plants in Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province of Sri Lanka

Table 1

Statistics on the usage of herbal therapeutics.

Parameter	Percentage
Demographic data of regular users
Gender
Male	59.8
Female	40.2
Age group (years)
30–45	34.09
46–60	38.64
61–75	24.24
>75	3.03
Educational background
University degree/diploma and above	2.3
12 years of school education	15.2
1–11 years of school education	82.5
No schooling	0
Source of information/knowledge
From parents/grandparents	60.42
Neighbours/friends	13.89
Doctors/traditional physicians	7.64
Media	13.19
Own experience	4.86
Reason for usage
Safe/less side effects	47.59
Previous success	35.86
Easy access to the plant materials	13.79
High cost of other treatment methods	0
Nonavailability of modern health-care facilities	2.76