Ethnopharmacy and scientification of immunostimulants plants used by the Suwawa tribe in Gorontalo province and the Muna tribe in southeast Sulawesi province during the covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 virus continues to spread in different countries, including Indonesia, which has not shown a substantial decline until the present day. This has prompted the government and society to seek various methods to survive in order to maintain a prosperous life. It is recommended to consume nutritious food, beverages, supplements, or medications that contain immunostimulant substances to strengthen immunity and prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Various medicinal plants worldwide, including those in Indonesia, have been scientifically proven to contain secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins, which exhibit immunostimulant activities. This descriptive research combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys, interviews, and phytochemical screening. Its objective is to analyze the results of ethnopharmaceutical and scientification of immunostimulant medicinal plants used by the Suwawa tribe in Gorontalo Province and the Muna tribe in Southeast Sulawesi during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study involved15 informants, which divided 9 participants from the Suwawa tribe and 4 from the Muna tribe. Based on interviews and calculations of the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Use Value (UV), the most frequently used plant was identified and processed into crude drugs.The phytochemical screening results revealed that the plants contained group compounds.