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. 2020 May 24;16(1):29.
doi: 10.1186/s13002-020-00381-5.

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of a marginal hill community of Central Himalaya: diversity, usage pattern, and conservation concerns

S N Ojha  1 , Deepti Tiwari  1 , Aryan Anand  1 , R C Sundriyal  2   3
Affiliations

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of a marginal hill community of Central Himalaya: diversity, usage pattern, and conservation concerns

S N Ojha et al. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. .

Abstract

Background: Indigenous communities use wild plants to cure human ailments since ancient times; such knowledge has significant potential for formulating new drugs and administering future health care. Considering this, the present study was undertaken to assess use value, diversity, and conservation concerns of medicinal plants used in traditional herbal care system of a marginal hill community in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand in the Central Himalayan region of India.

Methodology: Extensive surveys were made in 73 villages to gather information on the ethnomedicinal use of plant species used in the traditional herbal healing system. A total of 100 respondents were identified (30 herbal healers called Vaidyas and 70 non-healers/natives) and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires, target interviews, and group discussion. Some important indices such as the use-value index (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC), cultural importance index (CI), and informant consensus factor (Fic) were calculated for the medicinal plants included in the present study.

Result: It was recorded that the community uses a total of 70 species with 64 genera and 35 families for curing various ailments. Family Lamiaceae recorded the maximum number of medicinal plants. Twenty-one species used most extensively in the traditional health care system. The major parts of the identified plants used for the treatment of various ailments were root/rhizome and leaf. The most common methods used for the preparation of these plants were decoction and infusion. Ocimum basilicum L., Cannabis sativa L., Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Sw., Curcuma longa L., and Setaria italica L. had the highest rate of use report. RFC value ranged between 0.03 and 0.91 with highest values for Setaria italica, Zingiber officinale, Ocimum basilicum, and Raphanus sativus. The traditional knowledge is passed verbally to generations and needs to be preserved for the future bio-prospecting of plants that could be a potential cure to any future disease.

Conclusion: In recent years, the community has access to modern hospitals and medicinal facilities, although a considerable number still prefer medicinal plants for curing select ailments. It is suggested that these ethnomedicinal species need to be screened and evaluated further for their effectiveness for pharmacological activity. Also, significant efforts are required to conserve traditional knowledge and natural habitats of wild medicinal plants.

Keywords: Ailments; Bageshwar; Ethnomedicinal plants; Indigenous people; Public health; Traditional knowledge; Uttarakhand.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study area and villages in Garur and Kapkot Bolcks of District Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, India
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Age distribution of respondents
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of medicinal plants in different life form
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Plant part used in preparation of medicine
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Processing of plant parts in preparation of medicine
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Distribution of medicinal plants in different ailments category
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Past (2008) and present (2018) use of plants in traditional health care system
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Community view points on effectiveness of traditional health care system
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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