Table 4.

Most used medicinal plants species for medical categories based on highest fidelity level at Loja province

No	Medicinal plant species	Medical categorya	Ip	Iu	FL value (%)b
1	Matricaria recutita L.	Digestive system	57	57	100
2	Gaiadendron punctatum (Ruiz & Pav.) G. Don	Respiratory system	44	44	100
3	Ruta graveolens L.	Culture-bound syndromes	41	46	89.1
4	Melissa officinalis L.	Nervous system	58	85	68.2
5	Equisetum bogotense Kunth	General disorders	78	116	67.2
6	Amaranthus hybridus L.	Circulatory system	47	73	64.4
7	Viola tricolor L.	Dermatological system	46	76	60.5
8	Borago officinalis L.	Respiratory system	49	120	40.8
9	Oreocallis grandiflora (Lam.) R. Br.	Genitourinary system	40	107	37.4
10	Sambucus nigra L.	Respiratory system	65	186	34.9
11	Aerva sanguinolenta (L.) Blume	Gynecological system	78	238	32.8

^aThe medical categories were adapted from International Classification of Diseases catalogue provided by World Health Organization and applied to 160 medicinal plant species sold at 33 traditional markets within the Loja province, southern Ecuador

I_p = Number of market vendors who independently cited the importance of a specific illness or disease

I_u = Total number of market vendors

^bFL value % = Fidelity Level value percentage (0 = the least, 100 = the highest efficiency)