ETHNOMEDICINAL SURVEY OF PLANTS IN PROTECTED AREAS OF KASHMIR HIMALAYA: A CASE STUDY OF THE HIRPORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.

In remote Himalayan regions, ethnic communities living near protected areas are dependent on medicinal plants for their healthcare. Although several studies related to ethnomedicine are available from Kashmir Himalaya, however studies focusing on protected areas in this region are largely overlooked. In this study, we aimed to document the ethnomedicinal plant species of the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary in Kashmir Himalaya. We conducted systematic field surveys in the study area to collect primary data from 60 participants through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire approach. We recorded 56 medicinal plant species used against different human diseases. The most frequent plant species were used for the treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders. Asteraceae followed by Lamiaceae and Polygonaceae were the most dominant families. The most commonly used plant parts were the leaves, and the main method of preparation was decoction. The present study provides an empirical documentation of valuable ethnic knowledge of medicinal plant species and their respective uses to treat various diseases that will be useful to the pharmaceutical industries for various drug formulations through bioprospection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]