Ethnomedicinal survey of plants used by tribal in Lalgarh forest range, W.B., India

Abstract

Exploration of the traditional knowledge of the indigenous people is very important for revealing the uses of plants and plant parts for medicinal purpose. Once the medicinal use of these plants is known, their active ingredients have to be identified and their efficacy has to be tested scientifically. A good number of modern medicines are now available which has been formulated taking the traditional knowledge into consideration. Besides people all over the world now shift their attention to herbal drugs because they are comparatively safer and cheaper. In these contexts, ethnomedicinal studies are of great significance. In the present paper, attempts have been made enlist the ethnomedicinal plants of Lalgarh forest range of India. The study reveals that 52 different plant species are used by the local people to cure different diseases. Out of the 52 plant species, 17 are herbs, 20 trees, 11 shrubs, and 4 are climbers. The list of plant parts, habit, mode of their use and purpose has been documented in this study.