Ethno-Medicinal Uses of Dongoria Kandha of Niyamgiri Hill, Odisha, India

Abstract

Background: In the current study, the Ethnomedicinal data have been collected from tribal people of Niyamgiri hill region of Kalahandi district, Odisha, India. The tribals of this region have been using the medicinal plants to treat various diseases since the time immemorial. Objective: The main objective is to find out the mostly used plant parts and their Ethnomedicinal values used to cure different diseases by tribal people of Niyamgiri hill region of Kalahandi district, Odisha, India. Methods: It includes to record the information on medicinal uses of plant by leading healers by taking interviews and recording the comprehensive knowledge about the medicinal properties of different plants with the snow ball technique and sampling method. Plants are recognized by the local practitioner also known as Kabiraja or Vaidya in forest floor and were classified botanically. Results: The present study records the use of different parts of 50 plant species which belongs to 47 genera of 35 families, against 48 human diseases, with special reference to diarrhoea, dysentery, cold, cough, piles and fever. The practitioners use these plants to treat kinds of ailments like asthma, skin diseases, constipation, diabetes, toothache, wound healing, headache, infertility in women, mouth ulcer, insect bites, ring worms, thirst and eczema. All these medicinal plants are used as healing sources as there is not modern medical facilities available nearby. The collected data are analysed through use value (UV). Bacopa monnieri (UV of 1.50), Bryonia laciniosa (UV of 1.33), Andrographis paniculata (UV of 1.0), Bryophyllum pinnatum (UV of 0.83) and Celastrus paniculalus (UV of 0.83) are the most frequently and popularly used medicinal plant species in the study area. Conclusion: 50 plant species that were collected from Niyamgiri hill region. It is found that still a large number of tribal people use their traditional knowledge and culture and have adopted herbal therapy for most of the diseases because of the strong belief of the local practitioners.