Ethnopharmacognostic Knowledge of the Rambang Community in Pantar Village: Development of a Biodiversity E-Booklet

Abstract

Local medicinal-plant knowledge is a biocultural resource and a potential contextual source for biodiversity education, yet orally transmitted knowledge is vulnerable to erosion. This study aimed to (1) document medicinal plants used by the Rambang community in Pantar Village, including plant diversity, parts used, preparation methods, and community-reported uses, and (2) develop and evaluate a biodiversity E-Booklet based on the documented ethnopharmacognostic knowledge. The study combined descriptive qualitative inquiry with research and development. Fifteen respondents with knowledge and experience in medicinal-plant use were selected purposively, and data were collected through structured interviews, field exploration, documentation, plant identification, and classification. The E-Booklet was developed through the analysis, design, and development stages of ADDIE, followed by external expert validation and a limited student implementation focused on readability and usability. The study documented 40 medicinal plant species belonging to 26 families; Zingiberaceae was the most represented family with seven species, followed by Asteraceae with five species. Leaves were the most frequently reported plant part, and boiling/decoction was the most frequently reported preparation method. External validation yielded 92.50% for content and biology education and 91.67% for learning media, with a mean of 92.09%, indicating high feasibility. The student readability and usability assessment involving 30 Grade X students yielded an overall mean item score of 3.80 on a four-point scale (95.00%), indicating that the E-Booklet was highly readable and usable. Student feedback indicated that local-language terms required clearer explanation and that image quality could be improved. The findings demonstrate a practical pathway for transforming ethnopharmacognostic knowledge into contextual biodiversity learning material while maintaining a clear distinction between community-reported medicinal uses and clinically verified efficacy. The limited student trial assessed readability and usability rather than learning effectiveness.