Ethnobotanical Assessment of Medicinal Plants Used by Indigenous People Living Around the Sacred Groves of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present study was conducted for the first time in sacred groves located in East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The purpose was to document the indigenous knowledge of the tribal people used in the preparation of herbal medicines. To get the data on traditional uses of ethnomedicinal plants, 25 key informants were interviewed. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, i.e., fidelity level (FL), data matrix ranking (DMR), priority ranking (PR), and Jaccard index (JI), were calculated for recorded ethnomedicinal plants. A total of 104 ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 89 genera and 53 families used in 17 disease categories were documented. Leaves (32.59%) were the frequently used plant parts, and most of the informants suggested taking herbal medicines orally. In our study, we found highest FL value for Andrographis paniculata and Gymnema sylvestre (100%) and the lowest value was recorded for Gloriosa superba (40%). Syzygium cumini was the most multipurpose plant other than medicinal uses. In PR, informants ranked poducultivation (Burn agriculture) (19.25%) as a leading threat to ethnomedicinal plants. The present study provides useful information about traditional uses of ethnomedicinal plants used by indigenous communities in different ailments. Most of the plants having highest use values could be employed in pharmaceutical research in order to achieve adequate revenue. Some of the plants in the study area are facing threats; hence, sustainable harvesting and conservation initiatives are needed in the region.