ETHNOMEDICINAL REMEDY FOR THE LIVER DISORDERS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH : A REVIEW.

In the mountain areas people's dependent on plants for their sustenance especially for medicine and value of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practises provides clues to latest areas of research in biodiversity conservation. However, information on the uses of plants for medicine is deficient from interior areas of Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh has a rich heritage of medicinal plants. Inspite of this, acute jaundice and viral hepatitis diseases are highly prevalent nowadays among the residents of the state. Total 57 plant families are used for the treatment of liver ailments. The majority of the medicinal plants belongs to the family Asteraceae followed by Berbridaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Gentianaceae, respectively. The present study aimed to review and highlight the available ethnomedicinal plants in Himachal Pradesh for the treatment of the liver disorders. The over-exploitation, habitat degradation and changing environmental conditions may lead to the extinction within few years. Therefore, regular monitoring of population habitats, development of conventional protocol, and establishment of species in-situ conditions and replication of this approach in other parts of Indian Himalayan region have been recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]