1. Ethnomedicinal plants used by the ethnic people living in fringe villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar District , West Bengal, India
- Author
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Karan Kumar Roy nbsp, Anipa Saha, Shyamali Dutta, Aninda Mandal lowast, Bidisha Chakraborty, Puja Saha, and Afreen Begum
- Subjects
Flora ,Multidisciplinary ,Herbarium ,Geography ,Ethnic group ,food and beverages ,West bengal ,Traditional knowledge ,Socioeconomics ,Medicinal plants ,Family Fabaceae ,Ethnomedicine - Abstract
Objectives: The field study was undertaken at the adjoining villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal, India to record the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Rava, Santal and Oraon people and to explore their traditional knowledge to treat common ailments. Methods: With the help of pretested semi-structured questionnaire, tribal men and women were interviewed on ethnomedicinal uses of local flora during July 2018 to January 2020. The questionnaire covered aspects like local name, scientific name, family, used parts, ethnomedicinal uses, among others. Routine methods of plant collection and herbarium techniques were followed and the collected species were identified using relevant sources. Findings: A total of 57 plant species of 34 families were found to be used to treat several diseases like cough and cold, diabetes, among others. In few cases, the plant parts were used in combination with other plant parts to prepare traditional medicine. The plant family Fabaceae represents the highest number (6 species) of ethnomedicinal plants among others. Among different plant parts used for the preparation of medicine, leaves were most frequently used (49.12%) for the treatment of diseases. Besides, fruits, seeds, roots, etc. were also found to be used as traditional medicine for the treatment of ailments among human beings. Applications: The traditional knowledge of ethnic people regarding the utilisation of ethnomedicinal plants may be used in the preparation of pharmaceutical products which could contribute towards availability of essential drugs at much reduced cost. In addition, populations of medicinal plants must be monitored in order to conserve them and aid in planning sustainable utilisation. Novelty: In comparison to earlier reports, present study revealed 14 more plant species having immense ethnomedicinal values and frequently used by the tribal people in the area. In this regard, the study is significant to enrich the existing database. Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Medicinal plants; Rava; Santal; Oraon; Rasikbil; Cooch Behar
- Published
- 2020