Documentation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge on Some Medicinal Plants in Saharanpur District of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present ethnomedicinal exploration study presents the indigenous use of certain medicinal plants by the local people of the Saharanpur district in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. The survey was conducted during 2020-2022 in order to access information about traditional knowledge on medicinal plants of the study area and their conservation. Saharanpur is situated in the foothills of Shiwalik that constitute the outer Himalaya. This region forms the northern most part of Ganga-Yamuna Doab. The climate of the area is tropical due to the proximity of the Himalayan region. This area represents a great diversity of medicinal plants and contains deep indigenous traditional knowledge. The objective of the study was to record and document this traditional knowledge of medicinal plants for the welfare of future generations. The methods employed for ethnomedicinal data collection included semi-structured interviews, field observation, preference ranking and direct-matrix ranking. For the collection of ethnomedicinal information, the knowledgeable persons, plant collectors and ayurvedic medical practitioners of the study area were interacted. The conventional medicines obtained from these medicinal plants has been proved highly beneficial in maintaining good health and accordingly ethnic community still depends upon their indigenous knowledge to a greater extent to heal their ailments. A total of 82 plant species were collected, of which 66 plants of medicinal importance were documented with their botanical name, local name, family, habit and parts used. These 66 plant species belong to 59 genera and 35 families. The most dominant families recorded were Amaranthaceae followed by Asteraceae, Malvaceae, Lamiaceae and Moraceae. Herbs were the most common growth form followed by trees, shrubs and climbers. Among the different plant parts, the leaves were most commonly used to treat various diseases followed by root, seed, whole plant, fruit, stem, bark, flower and wood. It was observed that these plants are widely used for the treatment of various ailments such as asthma, kidney stone, rheumatism, fever, urinary infections, syphilis, leucorrhoea, tuberculosis, eye infections, leprosy and skin disorders by the local inhabitants of the study area. This investigation will be of great importance to conserve the heritable knowledge in the field of herbal treatment.