Diarrhea remains a common health problem for which traditional medicine continues to play an important role, including the use of plants and natural materials based on locally transmitted knowledge. This study aimed to document and inventory plants and natural materials empirically used to help manage diarrhea among the Dayak Meratus community and to discuss their relevance from a natural-products pharmacology perspective. A descriptive qualitative design with an ethnomedicinal approach was employed. Data were collected through purposive interviews with two traditional healers, field observations, and documentation. The data were descriptively analyzed according to local names, plant parts used, preparation methods, and routes of administration. The study documented 13 types of plants or natural materials, which were administered orally or externally. Traditional preparations included pounding, heating, boiling, blending, short-term soaking in water, and direct use without processing. Notably, several materials were externally applied to the abdomen, while wawangun leaves were applied to the head despite being classified as a remedy for diarrhea. Among the identified materials, Psidium guajava L. had the strongest available pharmacological evidence supporting antidiarrheal activity. These findings indicate that Dayak Meratus ethnomedicinal knowledge may provide valuable preliminary information for generating pharmacological hypotheses and guiding further natural-products research.
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