An ethnobotanical study on across different ethnic groups from high-altitude areas of the Northwestern Himalayas

Abstract

Abstract. Khoja AA, Andrabi SAH, Mir RA. 2023. An ethnobotanical study on musculoskeletal disorders across different ethnic groups from high-altitude areas of the Northwestern Himalayas. Asian J Ethnobiol 6: 48-59. Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are injuries and disorders that affect the human body's movements. In traditional medicine variety of plant species across the globe are used to treat these diseases. The present study examined to document the plant taxa used for the said diseases in the remote and frontier area (Kupwara) of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir-India. Extensive surveys were conducted using simple stratified sampling from April 2020 to July 2022. Three different quantitative ethnobotanical indices (Use value, Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and family use values) were used to interpret the results. A total of N=46 plant species from N=32 families were identified. Asteraceae (N=4) was the dominant family recognized; among the total enlisted species (N=37) were herbs, accounting for most of the life form contributing to treating the maximum number of diseases (80%). Leaf accounted for the majority of all plant parts (N=11), followed by root (N=10); the most popular and effective preparation techniques listed were decoction and paste; maximum UV was calculated for Geranium wallichianum D.Don ex Sweet (0.73) and the lowest UV for Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. (0.28). The highest FUV was conceived for Geraniaceae (0.68). Joint pain was treated by most species (N=26), and the highest value of ICF was recorded for inflammation (0.45), followed by Muscular pain (0.43). The cross-cultural analysis showed that all commonly used 13 species said selected ethnic groups (Gujjar, Bakarwal, and Kashmiri).