Assessment of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra

Abstract

Ethnobotany is the study of how people of a particular region use diff erent indigenous plants for treatment of various diseases. Th e indigenous knowledge system of medicine, which exists as a superstructure, eff ectively serves as a remedy for the people of a particular region for curing diff erent ailments; further, the indigenous practices are easy to administer and are economical. Th e benefi ts of indigenous knowledge can be off ered to the vast majority of population by establishing its appropriate medicinal usage for specifi c diseases, thus confi rming the validity of such knowledge and integrating it with various development programmes. For ethnobotanical survey, two districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra were selected and survey was conducted in the month of March-April 2006. Th e data reported was compiled through a fusion of interview and non-participant observation method. Various plants were found to have medicinal value and the tribal people largely depend on them for treating various types of diseases. Our country is a rich source of fl ora and traditional heritage of herbal wealth. India’s share in herbal world market is just less than 1.5%. To overcome this present scenario, there is an urge to develop trust and faith among the people towards the safer indigenous system by organizing diff erent programmes at a various levels. In the present survey, a defi ned attempt has been made to document the indigenous knowledge of some medicinal plants of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Key words: Ethnobotany, herbal drugs, indigenous, medicinal plants, survey