Ethnic uses and Conservation Practices of Some Plants with Major Medicinal Potential by the Tribal Community in India

Abstract

Ethnic people since ancient times uses medicinal plants for the treatment of primary diseases as the plants constitutes some important active constituents and also they are safe and environmentally friendly. As the modern medical care have high cost, side effects and inaccessible to the poorer section, the use of traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of common ailments has great relevance today. It is evident that “folk” or “tribal medicine man” or the "doctor" of the tribe, who has the knowledge of treating diseases, keeps this knowledge as a closely guarded secret and passes it to the next generation by word of mouth. No written texts on these systems are available and different tribes follow different time tested methods. Bearing on mind about medicinal implications of various medicinal plants and their present ecological status, preservation of these traditional knowledge systems is a great challenge today. Presently the Government of India, realising the value of the country’s vast range of medicinal plants, has embarked on a mission of documenting the traditional knowledge. So the scientific study of traditional medicines, and systematic conservation of the concerned medicinal plants are thus of great importance. Present study highlights ethno-medico-botanical approaches of 5 medicinal plants, their utilization by tribal people of India for health care and comprehensive conservation strategy, which will be helpful to the naturalists, planners, policy makers, scientists related to this field for subsequent monitoring and restoration management purpose.