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The paper reports the ethnomedicinal uses of 32 plants by the tribals of Narayanapatna area of koraput district, Orissa. Besides, uses of other plants or plant products are also dealt, with. Distribution of plants in the area, their field numbers, local and oriya names are appended.

Background

Koraput, a predominantly tribe-inhabited and one of the highly endemic districts of Odisha State that contributes a substantial number of malaria cases to the India’s total. Control of malaria in such districts would contribute to change the national scenario on malaria situation. Hence, a study was carried out to measure the magnitude of malaria prevalence in the district to strengthen the malaria control activities.

Methods

Prevalence of malaria was assessed through a sample blood survey (SBS) in seven randomly selected community health centres (CHCs). Individuals of all age groups in the villages selected (one in each subcentre) were screened for malaria infection. Both thick and thin smears were prepared from blood samples collected by finger prick, stained and examined for malaria parasites searching 100 fields in each smear. The results of a blood survey (n = 10,733) carried out, as a part of another study, during 1986–87 covering a population of 17,722 spread in 37 villages of Koraput district were compared with the current survey results. Software SPSS version 16.0 was used for data analysis.

Result

During the current study, blood survey was done in 135 villages screening 12,045 individuals (16.1% of the total population) and among them, 1,983 (16.5%) were found positive for malaria parasites. Plasmodium falciparum was the major malaria parasite species accounted for 89.1% (1,767) of the total positives; Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium malariae accounted for 9.3% (184) and 0.2% (5), respectively. Gametocytes were found in 7.7% (n = 152) of the positive cases. The majority of parasite carriers (78.9%) were afebrile. The 1986–87 blood survey showed that of 10,733 people screened, 833 (7.8%) were positive for malaria parasites, 714 (85.7%) with P. falciparum, 86 (10.3%) with P. vivax, 12 (1.4%) with P. malariae and 21 (2.5%) with mixed infections.

Conclusion

The results of the current study indicated a rising trend in transmission of malaria in Koraput district compared to the situation during 1986–87 and indicated the necessity for a focused and reinforced approach for the control of the disease by improving people’s access to diagnosis and treatment and ensuring implementation of the intervention measures with adequate coverage and compliance.

The paper presents the ethnomedicinal use of 35 plants by the tribals of Koraput district to cure 25 diseases they suffer from. Apart from this, a note on the vegetation pattern, tribal population and geography of the district is given here.

This paper deals with the ethnobotanical observations of the tribals of Koraput district of Orissa. About 49 species of plants and their mode of usage are mentioned.

Background

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out to collect information on the use of medicinal plants in Southern Western Ghats of India (Madurai district, Tamil Nadu). Information presented in this paper was gathered from the paliyar tribes using an integrated approach of botanical collections, group discussions and interviews with questionnaires in the years 1998 – 1999. The informants interviewed were 12 among whom 4 were tribal practitioners.

Results

A total of 60 ethnomedicinal plant species distributed in 32 families are documented in this study. The medicinal plants used by paliyars are listed with Latin name, family, local name, parts used, mode of preparation and medicinal uses. Generally, fresh part of the plant was used for the preparation of medicine.

Conclusion

We observed that the documented ethnomedicinal plants were mostly used to cure skin diseases, poison bites, stomachache and nervous disorders. The results of this study showed that these tribal people still depend on medicinal plants in Madurai district forest areas.

In the mainstream culture to identify oneself as a “feminist” has been a fashion. Feminism covers all issues degrading and depriving women of their due in society vis-à-vis male members and it has started a crusade against atrocities on women across the globe. It is therefore regarded as synonymous with a movement and revolution to defend and promote issues involving women. However, the concerns that feminism raises do seem alien to tribal inhabitants in the Koraput district of Orissa, because, unknowingly, they are its champions. Its principles are ingrained in their very culture. They practice and follow feminism as a matter of habit that has come to them down the ages. They do not follow it out of fear, compassion, enlightenment, education or compulsion; it is a necessity that comes quite naturally to them. It has been spontaneous and indigenous.

The preliminary investigations of crude during resources of sugali tribes of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh with their recipes, preparation of drugs, administration, usage form several centuries. Fifty plant crude drugs (species) belong to twenty nine families were collected based on folk-lore knowledge. Botanical name, family name, part used, mode of preparation and administration and purpose, for which it as been used were enumerated.

Ethno-botanical explorations with regard to the folk-lore medicine in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu and Palghat district of Kerala for jaundice was carried out. Out of twenty remedies thus gathered two are found to be new reports and a few others have got interesting combination. The specimens are identified at Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore and deposited in the Herbarium of Ethnobiology department of International Institute of Ayurveda, Coimbatore. Two newly reported plants for Jaundice namely Alysicarpus vaginalis DC. and Justicia tranquebariensis L. f, have been taken for phytochemical screening and pharmacological studies. The botanical name of the plant, local name, Sanskrit name and the part of the plant employed are given in table I.

The study concerns the first -hand information on 50 ethnomedicinal plants traditional used by aborigines and rural folks of Nasik district, Maharashtra, for the treatment of various human ailments and disorders. The paper gives botanical identity, local name, family and mode of administration.

The study grains to explore ethno-medicobotany of Badaga population in the Nilgiri hills of Tamilnadu, South India. Ethno botanical field survey and personal discussion methods have been adopted in the collection of data. A list of 71 flowering plants belonging to 42 families, 67 genera and 70 species are employed by the Badaga popu-lation in their native system of medicine for therapeutic purposes. In reviewing ethnomedical information, data on folk herbal remedies and their various methods of applications for treating a wide range of ailments have been furnished. A brief description of plants, their habitat, family and local Badaga names are outlined here.

Background

Plants have traditionally been used as a source of medicine in India by indigenous people of different ethnic groups inhabiting various terrains for the control of various ailments afflicting human and their domestic animals. The indigenous community of snake charmers belongs to the 'Nath' community in India have played important role of healers in treating snake bite victims. Snake charmers also sell herbal remedies for common ailments. In the present paper an attempt has been made to document on ethno botanical survey and traditional medicines used by snake charmers of village Khetawas located in district Jhajjar of Haryana, India as the little work has been made in the past to document the knowledge from this community.

Methods

Ethno botanical data and traditional uses of plants information was obtained by semi structured oral interviews from experienced rural folk, traditional herbal medicine practitioners of the 'Nath' community. A total of 42 selected inhabitants were interviewed, 41 were male and only one woman. The age of the healers was between 25 years and 75 years. The plant specimens were identified according to different references concerning the medicinal plants of Haryana and adjoining areas and further confirmation from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.

Results

The present study revealed that the people of the snake charmer community used 57 medicinal plants species that belonged to 51 genera and 35 families for the treatment of various diseases. The study has brought to light that the main diseases treated by this community was snakebite in which 19 different types of medicinal plants belongs to 13 families were used. Significantly higher number of medicinal plants was claimed by men as compared to women. The highest numbers of medicinal plants for traditional uses utilized by this community were belonging to family Fabaceae.

Conclusion

This community carries a vast knowledge of medicinal plants but as snake charming is banned in India as part of efforts to protect India's steadily depleting wildlife, this knowledge is also rapidly disappearing in this community. Such type of ethno botanical studies will help in systematic documentation of ethno botanical knowledge and availing to the scientific world plant therapies used as antivenin by the Saperas community.

Folk medicinal practitioners form the first tier of primary health-care providers to most of the rural population of Bangladesh. They are known locally as Kavirajes and rely almost solely on oral or topical administration of whole plants or plant parts for treatment of various ailments. Also about 2% of the total population of Bangladesh are scattered among more than twenty tribes residing within the country's borders. The various tribes have their own tribal practitioners, who use medicinal plants for treatment of diseases. The objective of the present survey was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes and tribal practitioners to determine which species of plants belonging to the Verbenaceae family are used by the practitioners. The Verbenaceae family plants are well known for constituents having important bio-active properties. The present survey indicated that 13 species belonging to 8 genera are used by the folk and tribal medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh. A comparison of their folk medicinal uses along with published reports in the scientific literature suggests that the Verbenaceae family plants used in Bangladesh can potentially be important sources of lead compounds or novel drugs for treatment of difficult to cure debilitating diseases like malaria and rheumatoid arthritis.

Background

Himalayan forests are the most important source of medicinal plants and with useful species for the local people. Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) is situated in the interior part of the Garhwal Himalayan region. The presented study was carried out in Madhmeshwar area of KWLS for the ecological status of medicinal plants and further focused on the ethnomedicinal uses of these plants in the study area.

Methods

Ecological information about ethnomedicinal plants were collected using random quadrats in a random sampling technique along an altitudinal gradient in the KWLS. Information on medicinal properties of plants encountered in the present study was generated by questionnaire survey and was also compared with relevant literature.

Results

A total of 152 medicinally important plant species were reported, in which 103 were found herbs, 32 shrubs and 17 were tree species which represented 123 genera of 61 families. A total of 18 plant species fell into the rare, endangered (critically endangered) and vulnerable status categories.

Conclusion

The present study documented the traditional uses of medicinal plants, their ecological status and importance of these plants in the largest protected area of Garhwal Himalaya. This study can serve as baseline information on medicinal plants and could be helpful to further strengthen the conservation of this important resource.

A medicinal plants survey was done in various parts of Dharmapuri district, about 260 medicinal plants were identified and collected. Amongst them, few of the plants were less known but had remarkable medicinal properties, they were grouped together and are enumerated by the botanical name, family name, local name, locality and ethnomedical properties.

The paper presents 41 folklore claims collected from the tribes Gaddi, Swangla, Bhot and other local inhabitants residing in the district of Lahul and spiti in Himachal Pradesh. 41 taxa belonging to 39 genera and 24 families have been described. Botanical name of the plant, family, local name, place of collection, altitude, collection number and mode of administration have been given. Uses of most of the herbs are reported here for the first time.

Background

A large number of people in both developing and developed countries rely on medicinal plant products to maintain their health or treat illnesses. Available evidence suggests that medicinal plant consumption will remain stable or increase in the short to medium term. Knowledge on what factors determine medicinal plant consumption is, however, scattered across many disciplines, impeding, for example, systematic consideration of plant-based traditional medicine in national health care systems. The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding medicinal plant consumption dynamics. Consumption is employed in the economic sense: use of medicinal plants by consumers or in the production of other goods.

Methods

PubMed and Web of Knowledge (formerly Web of Science) were searched using a set of medicinal plant key terms (folk/peasant/rural/traditional/ethno/indigenous/CAM/herbal/botanical/phytotherapy); each search terms was combined with terms related to medicinal plant consumption dynamics (medicinal plants/health care/preference/trade/treatment seeking behavior/domestication/sustainability/conservation/urban/migration/climate change/policy/production systems). To eliminate studies not directly focused on medicinal plant consumption, searches were limited by a number of terms (chemistry/clinical/in vitro/antibacterial/dose/molecular/trial/efficacy/antimicrobial/alkaloid/bioactive/inhibit/antibody/purification/antioxidant/DNA/rat/aqueous). A total of 1940 references were identified; manual screening for relevance reduced this to 645 relevant documents. As the conceptual framework emerged inductively, additional targeted literature searches were undertaken on specific factors and link, bringing the final number of references to 737.

Results

The paper first defines the four main groups of medicinal plant users (1. Hunter-gatherers, 2. Farmers and pastoralists, 3. Urban and peri-urban people, 4. Entrepreneurs) and the three main types of benefits (consumer, producer, society-wide) derived from medicinal plants usage. Then a single unified conceptual framework for understanding the factors influencing medicinal plant consumption in the economic sense is proposed; the framework distinguishes four spatial levels of analysis (international, national, local, household) and identifies and describes 15 factors and their relationships.

Conclusions

The framework provides a basis for increasing our conceptual understanding of medicinal plant consumption dynamics, allows a positioning of existing studies, and can serve to guide future research in the area. This would inform the formation of future health and natural resource management policies.

The present paper deals with the results of a preliminary survey of the wild edible plants used by different ethnic groups in the Anaimalai hills of the Western Ghats in Coimbatore district. Tribals of various ethnic groups dominate the wooded habitat of this hilly region. About 53 plants species belonging to 32 families are used as edible by the tribes. Of these, the leaves of 25 plant species are consumed as green and about 20 wild fruits are consumed raw. The rest of the plant species are used for their tubers, seeds and roots. The plant species, their families, vernacular names, parts used and their mode of usage were also reported.

While conducting the Ethno-Botanical explorations of Jammu and Kashmir State, the authors gathered information from the primitive society, Gujar, Bakarwala and other inhabitants living in far-flung areas not exposed to civilization as well as the villages, on the importance of the plants, used by them in their way of life, as medicine, food, fodder and other religio-social customs and beliefs. The present paper deals with 109 species of the wild edible plants only being used by them for food in various ways. The botanical names of the wild edible plants, local names, places of collection, parts used and mode of use, are also discussed.

The present paper deals with the athnomedicobotany of crude drugs used by a seminomadic ethnic group, the Yanadis, found in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh. This aboriginal group is considered to be the conservators of folklore medicine. Fourteen plant species available in the locality, used by this tribe to cure ailments like epilepsy, hysteria fits and insanity were collected. The valid scientific and vernacular names, plant parts used, therapeutic combinations, mode of administration were enumerated.

This paper presents the result of a study on the herbal drugs in the herbal markets in Mersin and Adana. The data were collected through direct interviews with herbalists and customers between 2002–2005 and the popular medicinal plants were investigated. A total of 107 species belonging to 56 families were investigated and the samples were listedwith their local and Latin names. The investigation includes cross-checking the disorders and their herbal cures and their recommended use stated by the local herbalists, by the parts used, and by the preparations. The cultivated species and their ethno botanical uses, are documented and extensive inventory is presented.

As a result, we observed that these plants are used especially for intestinal digestive disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, (21.68%), respiratory tract system disorders (10.43%), heart-blood circulatory system disorders (8.48%), urinary tract system disorders (7.70%), skin disorders (6.48%) and others.

Background

The present paper contributes to enrich the ethnobotanical knowledge of Calabria region (Southern Italy). Research was carried out in Alto Tirreno Cosentino, a small area lying between the Tyrrhenian coast and the Pollino National Park. In the area studied medicinal plants still play a small role among farmers, shepherds and other people who live far from villages and built-up areas.

Methods

Information was collected by interviewing native people, mainly elderly – engaged in farming and stock-raising activities – and housewives. The plants collected, indicated by the locals, have been identified according to "Flora d'Italia". The exsiccata vouchers are preserved in the authors' own herbaria.

Results

52 medicinal species belonging to 35 families are listed in this article. The family, botanical and vernacular name, part of the plant used and respective manipulation are reported there and, when present, similar or identical uses in different parts of Calabria or other Italian regions are also indicated.

Conclusion

Labiatae, Rosaceae and Leguminosae are the families most frequently present, whilst Compositae and Brassicaceae are almost absent. The uses of the recorded species relate to minor ailments, mainly those of the skin (15 species), respiratory apparatus diseases (11), toothache, decay etc. (10) and rheumatic pains (8). The easy availability of these remedies provides a quick way of curing various minor complaints such as tooth-ache, belly and rheumatic pain and headaches and can also serve as first aid as cicatrizing, lenitive, haemostatic agents etc. The role in veterinary medicine is, on the contrary, more important: sores, ulcers, tinea, dermatitis, gangrenous wounds of cattle, and even respiratory ailments are usually cured by resort to plants.

This paper presents the Medical Plant Wealth of Andhra Pradesh based on the results of Medico – Ethno – Botanical exploration undertaken during the last fourteen years (1971 – 72 till the end of 1984). In all, 117 well known medicinal plants widely used in Ayurveda, Siddha and other systems of Medicine are enumerated here.

The study of ethnobotany relating to any tribe is in itself a very intricate or convoluted process. This paper documents the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants that are in use by the indigenous Jaintia tribes residing in few isolated pockets of northeast India. The present study was done through structured questionnaires in consultations with the tribal practitioners and has resulted in the documentation of 39 medicinal plant species belonging to 27 families and 35 genera. For curing diverse form of ailments, the use of aboveground plant parts was higher (76.59%) than the underground plant parts (23.41%). Of the aboveground plant parts, leaf was used in the majority of cases (23 species), followed by fruit (4). Different underground plant forms such as root, tuber, rhizome, bulb and pseudo-bulb were also found to be in use by the Jaintia tribe as a medicine. Altogether, 30 types of ailments have been reported to be cured by using these 39 medicinal plant species. The study thus underlines the potentials of the ethnobotanical research and the need for the documentation of traditional ecological knowledge pertaining to the medicinal plant utilization for the greater benefit of mankind.

Background

The district of Manang (2000 – 6000 m) is located in the Central Himalayas, Nepal. The majority of local inhabitants of the area are Gurungs, of Tibetan origin. The remoteness of the region has resulted in continued use of plants as medicine in an area where the ethnobotany has sparsely been documented.

Methods

Interviews were conducted with amchi (Tibetan medicinal practitioners), local healers (including priests locally known as 'lamas'), plant traders, and knowledgeable villagers (including herders) regarding local plant names and their medicinal uses during several field visits (2002–2005). When convenient to the locals, a jungle or forest walk was done with the healers, allowing for both plant collection and detailed information gathering.

Results

This present research documented 91 ethnomedicinal plant species, belonging to 40 families under 73 genera, and 45 new ethnomedicinal plant species are added. These 91 locally used medicinal plants are found to treat 93 ailments. This study provides information on 45 plant species previously unknown for their medicinal uses in Manang. The indication for use, mode of preparation, dose and administration of medicine are described in detail for each species.

Conclusion

This wealth of ethnobotanical knowledge persists, and is being transferred to the next generation in some areas in upper Manang, in a country where this is often not the case. The senior amchi of the area (Karma Sonam Lama), who has been practicing Tibetan medicine for three generations, feels that it is of utmost importance to conserve the traditional healing system and to pass his knowledge on to the local community about the importance of medicinal plants. He hopes that this will lead to the conservation and sustainable management of medicinal plants in the villages. Over the duration of this research, the prices of several rare medicinal plants of Manang increased dramatically, highlighting both the scarcity and the quick disappearance of the species. This is only one example of a worrying trend of over harvesting of medicinal plants, and highlights the need for conservation and management of medicinal plants of Manang district.

Background

This study was conducted to identify medicinal plants and spices used for medicine by the community of Beni-Sueif, Upper Egypt.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data from local people was collected using direct interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results

Forty-eight plant species belonging to twenty-seven families and forty-seven genera were encountered during the study. Their botanical and vernacular names, plant parts used and medicinal uses are given. Results of the study were analyzed using two quantitative tools. The factor informant consensus indicated the agreement in the use of plants and the fidelity level indicated the ratio between the number of informants who independently suggested the use of a species for the same major purpose and the total number of informants who mentioned the plant for any use. The results of the factor informant consensus showed that the cardiovascular category has the greatest agreement, followed by the immunological, gastrointestinal and respiratory categories. The most important species according to their fidelity are: Hibiscus sabdariffa L. for the cardiovascular category; Trigonella foenum-graecum L. for the immunological category; Mentha piperita L. for the gastrointestinal category and Pimpinella anisum L. for the respiratory category.

Conclusions

Medicinal plants are still used for treatment in Beni-Sueif community despite the availability of prescribed medications. Documentation of this ethnomedicinal knowledge is important. Evaluation of pharmacological activity for the promising medicinal plants is suggested.