Abstract
Vindhya region is one of the less studied areas and characterized for rich vegetations of India. The plants species observed in the area have immense potential for the management and treatment of various ailments. The present paper reports to the documentation and conservation of ethnomedicinal plants of Sonebhadra district and their socio- economic relationship with the forest and its resources. The ethnobotanical data were collected using interviews, with local medicine man and field observations. Correct identity of the plants were done with the help of botanical survey of India (B.S.I). Important medicinal plants belonging to different families are documented in the present ethnobotanical study. During survey it was found that many plants were very rare viz Gymnema sylvestre, Withania somnifera, Curiculigo orchioides, Chlorophytum tuberosum, Plumbago zeylanica, Acorus calamus, Celastrus paniculatus etc. The main causes of raring of plants are deforestation, over grazing and increasing population. Due to scarcity of government health facilities in the district the peoples were largely dependent on traditional health care system. Key words: Ethnomedicinal plants, extinction ranking, Sonebhadra forest, Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Highlights
Plants have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years (Abu-Rabia, 2005)
Very large number of medicinal plants and their preparations were used for the treatment of various diseases by local herbal medicine man
The study indicates that the ethnic peoples of the area largely depend on the wild medicinal plants for cure of their ailments
Summary
Plants have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years (Abu-Rabia, 2005). During last few decades there has been an increasing interest in the study of medicinal plants and their traditional use for the development of new drugs. Many reports have been furnished on the use plants in traditional healing either by tribal peoples or indigenous communities of India. The knowledge of medicinal plants has accumulated over the course of many centuries and has been documented in different medicinal system such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. In India, it is reported that traditional healers use 2500 plant species while 100species of plants serve as regular source of medicine (Pei, 2001). Documenting the indigenous knowledge through ethno botanical studies is important for the conserving and utilization of biological recourses.
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