North Tripura Research Articles

POVERTY ERADICATION OF SHIFTING CULTIVATORS THROUGH BAMBOO CULTIVATION: A CASE STUDY OF NORTH DISTRICT OF TRIPURA, INDIA

The study makes an attempt to assess the poverty eradication of Jhumias through the bamboo cultivation in North Tripura district of Tripura. The present study is an empirical study based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected with the help of a well-structured questionnaire from 120 bamboo cultivator households randomly (who previously involved in shifting cultivation) selected from the three subdivisions of the North Tripura district. The result indicates that poverty among the shifting cultivators are reduced after rehabilitation through the bamboo cultivation. The headcount index, poverty gap index, human poverty index and multidimensional poverty index showed that during shifting cultivation respectively 100 per cent, 87 per cent, 88.2 per cent and 90 per cent jhumias were fallen under the poverty line in North Tripura district. It means intensity of poverty were very high during the shifting cultivation period. Headcount index, poverty gap index, human poverty index and multidimensional poverty index showed that after rehabilitation of jhumias through the bamboo cultivation respectively zero per cent, zero per cent, 3.29 per cent and 0.3 per cent are under the poverty line. It means poverty among the jhumias are effectively reduced after bamboo cultivation. Thus the paper suggests that bamboo cultivation will be a useful strategy for rehabilitation of jhumias and poverty eradication.

A pilot study: Comparative efficacy of power yoga, restorative yoga and their combination on reaction time among the college boys of North Tripura

A pilot study: Comparative efficacy of power yoga, restorative yoga and their combination on reaction time among the college boys of North Tripura

Hydrogeochemistry and quality evaluation of groundwater and its impact on human health in North Tripura, India.

Groundwater contamination becomes an alarming threat to the provision of ecosystem services and natural resources. A very high level of groundwater contamination has been observed in the northeastern states particularly in North Tripura district. Therefore, the present study considered the region as a case study to evaluate the hydrogeochemical facies, heavy metal pollution and irrigation indices, and their impact on human health. For the investigation, we have collected a total of 35 groundwater samples from North Tripura district. Hydrogeochemical facies through Piper plot reflect Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3- and Na+-HCO3- as dominant water types. Gibbs plot identifies the dominance of rock-water interaction process in groundwater hydrochemistry. Geochemical plots indicate the dominance of silicate weathering, ion exchange and carbonate dissolution processes in groundwater mineralisation. The order of trace metal contaminations follows Fe > As > Zn > Mn > Cu > Pb. Results of heavy metal indices suggest above 80% samples are at high risk due to high Fe contamination. The risk of the heavy metal indices is associated with rising elevation in southern part of North Tripura. Findings of health risk assessment study imply that children face much carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks than adults because of unsafe levels of Fe and As. Multivariate statistical tools are applied to unravel interrelationships among all ions and trace metals as well as probable hydrogeochemical processes in groundwater. Results of Wilcox and USSL plots suggest 77% samples meet irrigation suitability criteria. Besides, the analysis suggests a better insight to identify hydrogeochemical processes controlling groundwater chemistry and the suitability of groundwater for irrigation and drinking purposes. The study also suggests treatment and sustainable management of groundwater resources is compulsory to reduce trace metal contaminations before public use.

Molecular prevalence of tick-borne haemoprotozoan diseases in cattle of North Eastern state of Tripura, India.

The tick-borne haemoprotozoan diseases are major constraint in the health and production of cattle and causes substantial losses to the livestock industry throughout the world. Tripura is a northeastern state of India characterized by a warm humid tropical climate and high rainfall which is conducive to the multiplication of vector-ticks of haemoprotozoan diseases. A total of 320 tick-infested cattle (22 male and 298 female) of either sex was selected randomly from different district of Tripura for the detection of carrier cattle infected with tick-borne haemoparasites from July, 2017 to June, 2019. Out of 320 tick-infected cattle, 4.69% prevalence of B. bigemina infection in cattle was found while Theleria spp. was not prevalent in the collected blood sample by using polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of B. bigemina was significantly (< 0.05) higher in cattle more than 3years of age (6.72%) compared to the 1-3years age group (3.97%) and < 1year age groups (1.66%). Sex-wise B. bigemina infection was significantly (< 0.05) seen only in female (5.03%) cattle infested with ticks. The district-wise B. bigemina prevalence (%) in Tripura was as in cattle; Dhalai (0.63), Sipahijala (0.31), Khowai (0.31), Gomati (0.31), South Tripura (0.63), North Tripura (0.31), Unakoti (0.31) and West Tripura (1.87) respectively. The use of PCR assays for the detection ofB. bigemina and Theileria spp. inthe North Eastern state of Tripura of India showed prevalence of 4.69% and 0%, respectively in tick-infested cattle. This study is the first report about the prevalence of tick-borne haemoprotozoan diseases from cattle of Tripura and suggest that babesiosis is more common disease as compared to theileriosis and is more prevalent in adult female tick-infested cattle in Tripura.

Identifying the trend of persistent cluster of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children under five years in northeastern states of India

ObjectiveTo examine the spatial clustering of child undernutrition and identify the persistent clusters. MethodsWe utilized the data from the report of the National Family Health Survey, NFHS-4, (2015–16) and NFHS-5 (2019–21). Trend and spatial analysis were used to identify the persistent and hotspot clusters/areas of stunting, wasting, and underweight. ResultsEach of the northeastern states reported 22% or more stunted children in 2019–21, and at least 9% and 12% of children were wasted and underweight respectively. The hotspot clusters for stunting were found in the district of Assam and Meghalaya in both NFHS-4, 2015–16, and NFHS-5, 2019–21. Jantai Hills, East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, and Ribhoi in Meghalaya, and Dhubri, Bongaigaon, and Barpeta in the district of Assam were found persistent. And the hotspot cluster of underweight found persistent in both NFHS-4(2015–16) and NFHS-5(2019–21) are Dhubri, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Karimganj, and Darrang of Assam, and North Tripura of Tripura. ConclusionNumerous districts have seen a rise in the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight, in the northeastern states of India. This finding suggests that district-focused programs should be strengthened and sustained, and the outcomes of the study could help to target intervention programs and schemes aimed at eliminating child malnutrition at the district level, particularly in hotspot clusters.

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS, MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND IN-HOSPITAL OUTCOMES OF SCRUB TYPHUS PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTER IN THE NORTH EASTERN STATE, TRIPURA

Background- With the changing epidemiology, scrub typhus is now among the commonest causes of AFI in India and a high suspicion should be maintained, and an early diagnosis and promt management is warranted to prevent complications. Objective - Clinical characteristics, management practices and in-hospital outcomes of scrub typhus patients. Methods- a Cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted among 110 scrub typhus patients attending Agartala Government Medical College and GB Pant Hospital, a tertiary care centre of Tripura in last one year period. Their clinical profile, laboratory studies and management has been recorded and data has been evaluated with SPSS 21.0 for windows with p- value &lt;0.05. Results- the commonest presenting symptoms of scrub typhus are high-grade fever with chills , headache and it most commonly effects farmers. Most commonly effected age group was 40-50 years of age. Most of the patients were from West Tripura followed by Khowai Tripura and least patients were from North Tripura. Predominately it occured in September, October and November i.e. in post monsoon period. The pathognomonic eschar was present in 43% patients and rarest presentation was paraparesis (0.9%). Lymphadenopathy (9%), neck rigidity (6%), hepatomegaly (10%), splenomegaly (4%), acute respiratory distress syndrome was seen in 14% patients. Hepatic involvement was the most common complication seen in our study (42%). Anemia was present in 25% and thrombocytopenia was present in 22% patients. Subside of fever to doxycycline injection seen in 73% on day1 and 84% on day2. 19% Patient required icu admission. 9% developed ARDS and 6% required ET tube intubation and mechanical ventilation. 6% developed hypotension requiring inotropic support. 4% developed severe thrombocytopenia(&lt;10,000) required platelet transfusion. 11% developed acute kidney injury requiring haemodialysis. Survival rate were 93% and mortality 7%. In conclusion, scrub typhus became the leading infectious cause of acute febrile illness in North eastern state, Tripura. A high suspicion should be maintained, and an early diagnosis and promt management is warranted to prevent mortality and morbidity of patients.

Factor analysis of body measurements of bulls of local cattle of Tripura, India

Eighteen different biometric traits (body length, height at wither, heart girth, paunch girth, arm length, elbow length, fore-shank length, thigh length, hind shank length, pes length, tail length, switch length, ear length, head length, eye to eye space, circumference of horn, space between horn and horn length) in 50 bulls of Tripura local cattle were recorded from 3 districts (viz. North Tripura, South Tripura and West Tripura) of Tripura, India and analyzed by Principal component analysis to explain body conformation. The average of these various traits indicates that local cattle Tripura is of smaller type of cattle breed. Factor analysis with promax rotation revealed six factors which explained about 76.64% of the total variation. Factor 1 described the general body conformation and explained 21.85% of total variation. It was represented by significant positive high loading of body length, height at wither, head length, circumference of horn, distance between horns and horn length. The communality ranged from 0.535 (head length) to 0.890 (fore-shank length) and unique factors ranged from 0.465 to 0.110 for all the 18 different biometric traits. The result suggests that principal component analysis (PCA) could be used in breeding programs with a drastic reduction in the number of biometric traits to be recorded to explain body conformation.

Cincuenta y una nuevas incorporaciones a la fauna de mariposas (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) de Tripura, noreste de India

The state of Tripura of North-east India is a part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot and rich in unique biological flora and fauna. The present study is based on extensive surveys done by the author for a period of 5 years in different parts of North Tripura, North-east India. Here, I present a total of 21 genera and 51 species that are new additions to the butterfly fauna of Tripura. These new records include 18 species of Hesperiidae, 12 species of Lycaenidae, 17 species of Nymphalidae and 4 species of Pieridae. These records represent a 20.90% increase in the number of butterflies known from Tripura and update the existing checklist of butterfly fauna of the state.

Plants used for jaundice among the ethnic people of north Tripura district (Tripura), Northeast India

Plants used for jaundice among the ethnic people of north Tripura district (Tripura), Northeast India

Health risk assessment of co-occurrence of toxic fluoride and arsenic in groundwater of Dharmanagar region, North Tripura (India)

The present study assessed the co-occurrence of fluoride and arsenic in groundwater of Dharmanagar region (Tripura, India). Co-occurrence of the two toxicants was observed in 59% of the analyzed groundwater samples (n = 71), out of which concentrations of both the toxicants exceeded the World Health Organization drinking water standards in 30% samples. Significant positive correlation (r = 0.6) was observed between groundwater fluoride (<0.005–4.8 mg/l) and arsenic (<0.003–0.044 mg/l) contents. The range of cumulative estimated daily intakes (EDI) in the studied population was: 0.07–0.1 and 0.13–0.18 mg/kg-day for the Central Tendency Exposure (CTE) and the Reasonable Maximum Exposure (RME) scenarios, respectively. The EDI (fluoride) for the children of the study area was already found to reach the ‘Tolerable Upper Intake Level’ (UL) value (0.1 mg/kg-day), and the children are thus at high risk from developing dental fluorosis. Irrespective of the CTE or RME scenario, the hazard index of fluoride (HIFluoride = 1.2–3) and that of arsenic (HIArsenic = 1.5–5) were always found to be unsafe (HI > 1) in the studied population. The estimated Cumulative Noncancerous Lifetime Hazard Index for simultaneous fluoride and arsenic exposures was calculated to be prominently high (10 and 22 for the CTE and RME scenarios, respectively). The average urinary fluoride and arsenic contents of the studied population was observed to be correlated (r = 0.46 and 0.69) with the groundwater fluoride and arsenic concentrations, respectively. The observed content of urinary fluoride (mean = 3.1 ± 1.2 mg/l) of the studied population was determined to be 65–163% of their total fluoride intakes (1.9–7.2 mg/day). The obtained results are highly alarming and thus for reducing threats to human health, the government should immediately take necessary action for supplying safe drinking water for the residents.

Ethnomedical Importance of Traditional Medicinal Plants among the Indigenous People of Kanchanpur Subdivision of North Tripura District

Aim: Documentation of local health traditions (LHT) during the Medico-ethno Botanical Survey (MEBS) by the Regional Ayurveda Research Institute (RARI), Itanagar, was conducted in the remote forests and rural areas of Kanchanpur subdivision of North Tripura. Rural and tribal populace residing in the nearby forest locality is dependent largely on the traditional system of medicine for the treatment and management of health disorders. Materials and methods: The MEBS team documented LHT claims from the tribal and rural populace living in natural forest by discussion and interview with traditional healers as per the provided LHT format, followed by recording of the global positioning system (GPS) location, digital photography of the healer and raw drugs used in formulations. The team also collected the raw drugs sample for identification. Results and discussion: The MEBS team documented a total of 21 folk claims with 4 polyherbal and 17 single herb formulations collected from the Kanchanpur subdivision, North Tripura, along with digital photography of traditional healers and plants used in formulation. The properties of all 17 single herbal formulations were compared and correlated with the Ayurvedic literature. Conclusion: The documented LHT of Kanchanpur subdivision, North Tripura, will benefit in treatment of health-related issues. Properties of plants enlisted in the documented LHT from the local healers are compared and correlated with claimed health conditions to derive significant clinical relevance. The enlisted traditional claims of single herb formulations are pertaining to diseases like udarashula, amlapitta, sutikasrava, mushkavriddhi, kasa, jwara, pratishaya, katishula, twak vikara, uccha raktachapa, vrana, and sarpa damstra can be proposed for clinical trials to achieve the conventional line of treatment. Further it is necessary to study the herbs used in LHT to understand and validate the novel biomolecule for its high potential in treatment and further utilization in Ayurvedic formulation for the benefit of mankind.

DETERMINANTS OF MORBIDITY AS INDICATORS OF WOMEN'S HEALTH IN TRIPURA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Morbidity among people has an important inuence on their physical functioning and psychological well-being. The objective of the study is to assess morbidity status of the women population in North Tripura and Unokuti District of Tripura and to determine the important determinants of morbidity. The present paper shows out of the total 350 respondents, a total of 115 rural and urban respondents suffer from chronic diseases. Atotal of 235 respondents are found to have suffered/ suffering from seasonal diseases. The result reveals that with an increase in age, the probability of suffering from chronic illness increases with Exp (B) =1.074. The risk of being chronically ill decreases with increase in educational attainment (EDLR) with Exp (B) = 0.861. The risk of being chronically ill is more for women compared to male respondents.

Medicinal Plants in Local Health Traditions (LHTs)

Aim: Tripura is a small state of the northeastern part of India. The floral biodiversity is playing an important role in the traditional system of treatment in tribal and rural population. The research pertaining to the use of medicinal plants in ethnomedico-botany and formulations of study area is limited. The Medico-Ethno-Botanical Survey (MEBS) team of Regional Ayurveda Research Institute (RARI), Itanagar, documented the local health traditions (LHTs) from traditional healers of rural and tribal pockets of Dharmanagar subdivision, North district, Tripura. Materials and methods: The MEBS has been conducted in tribal pockets and villages of Dharmanagar Range, Damchera Range, and Panisagar Ranges of Dharmanagar subdivision of Forest, North Tripura district, Tripura. Local health traditions (LHTs) were documented through discussion and interview with traditional healers in the prescribed format along with global positioning system (GPS) location and digital photography of healer and plant raw drugs used in the traditional medicine and also prepared formulations. Medicinal plants were identified by using local and regional flora followed by processing, mounting, and preservation. Documented information has been processed for scientific validation and Ayurvedic names were provided to medicinal plants. Results and discussion: The MEBS conducted and documented six folk claims with six medicinal plants in prescribed formats to conserve traditional knowledge. The data presented systematically as botanical name, family, Sanskrit name, part used, morphological description of the plant, method of formulation, indication, and information of folk healer. Conclusion: Folk healers of Dharmanagar subdivision, Tripura, collects and use medicinal plants from surrounding area in the treatment of Sarpa Danstra (snake bite), Kamala (jaundice), Stanyajanan (galactagogue), Udarasula (acute abdomen), Alpamutrata (oliguria), and Vrana (fresh wound) popularly. Further, scientific validation is required to understand the useful therapeutic benefits and large-scale medicine production for the treatment. Clinical significance: The MEBS team noticed that some medicinal plants are used in the treatment of human diseases, such as Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. in snake bite, Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. in jaundice, Euphorbia herita L. in galactagogue, Scoparia dulcis L. in acute abdomen, Sida acuta Burm. f. for oliguria, and Mikania micrantha Kunth for fresh wound. These plants need to be studied in detail in order to harvest the maximum benefit for the mankind.

Distribution, molecular characterization and diversity of banana bunchy top virus in Tripura, India.

Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is a serious threat to banana (Musa spp.) production in India. Generally, BBTV isolates within the country share very low genetic diversity. However, in India, relatively greater diversity has been observed between isolates from north-eastern (NE) region (Meghalaya) and rest of India. Tripura is situated in the south-west corner of NE India and shares international border with Bangladesh. During 2014-2015, diagnostic surveys were conducted in seven districts of Tripura and polymerase chain reaction based detection established that BBTD is widely prevalent in all parts of Tripura showing an average incidence of 22.02%. Among the cultivars, maximum BBTV infection (27.03%) was recorded in 'Chini Champa', followed by plantain (24.29%). A representative population (31 isolates) of BBTV from Tripura was characterized based on DNA R and DNA S. Phylogenetic analysis based on BBTV DNA R and DNA S generated two broad clusters of Pacific-Indian Oceans (PIO) and south-east Asian groups including all Tripura isolates within PIO cluster. The clustering pattern and genetic diversity of BBTV population from Tripura suggested monophyletic origin of majority of representative isolates from a common ancestor of PIO group. The exchange of vegetative propagules within and in between countries could have contributed to the geographical expansion of PIO isolates in Tripura. However, four variant BBTV isolates has been identified from North Tripura and Khowai districts possessing somewhat unique variability than that of distinct isolate (BBTV-Umiam) reported from NE India (Meghalaya).

Recognizing the Rapid Expansion of Rubber Plantation – A Threat to Native Forest in Parts of Northeast India

With the current trend of land use/land cover (LULC) change taking place globally, several parts of northeast India are also showing signs of change in LULC pattern leading to forest loss. This study focusses on the expansion of monoculture rubber plantation ( Hevea brasiliensis ) in selected sub-watersheds in north-east India, and distributed in parts of north Tripura, Mizoram and a major portion in the Karimganj district of Assam. Remote sensing and GIS technique has been used to map and analyse the extent of rubber plantation using temporal IRS LISS III satellite data from 1997 to 2013. It has been observed that rubber plantation increased from 4.47 sq. km to 28.42 sq. km in various parts of the study area. The expansion was more rapid during recent times, i.e. during 2010 to 2013. The plantation took place in dense forest, open forest and degraded forest areas. The spread of the plantation was also observed in one reserved forest located within the study area. There are several instances of negative impacts of rubber plantation expansion in Southeast Asia. Similar expansion of rubber plantation has been observed in northeast India as well. Further spread of rubber plantations in the region needs to be regulated to avoid conversion of dense and reserved forest areas by fostering use of mixed cropping methods instead of rubber monocultures, and by adopting more sustainable land use and management practices.

Diversity of phytoplasmas infecting different crops and weeds in Tripuraregion of India

Phytoplasma suspected symptoms of little leaf, chlorosis, yellowing, phyllody, witches’ broom, flat stem, flower virescence and stunting were observed in sixteen plant species during surveys in fields, gardens, fruit orchards and nurseries of six districts of Tripura, India in 2017–2018. Out of 15 symptomatic plant samples belonging to different species, 12 were positive through nested PCR assays for phytoplasma presence. Pair wise sequence comparison, phylogeny and virtual RFLP analysis of phytoplasma partial 16S rDNA sequences of these 12 samples indicated the presence of different phytoplasma groups and subgroups (16SrI-B, 16SrII-D, 16SrVI-D, 16SrXIV-A 16SrI, 16SrIX and 16SrXI). ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related phytoplasmas (16SrI-B) were identified in sesame phyllody affected plants at South Tripura and in crape jasmine, Celosia argentea and Zinnia elegans from Unakoti, Dhalai, North Tripura and West Tripura district. In West Tripura ‘Ca. P. australasiae'related phytoplasmas (16SrII-D) were identified with Jatropha hastata and bitter gourd; ‘Ca. P. trifolii’-related phytoplasmas (16SrVI-D) were identified in chili and brinjal and ‘Ca. P. cynodontis’-related phytoplasmas (16SrXIV-A) were identified in palm grass samples from Sipahijala district. ‘Ca. P. phoenicium’-related phytoplasmas (16SrIX) were identified in cowpea; ‘Ca. P. oryzae’-related phytoplasmas were identified in arecanut from North Tripura and ‘Ca. P. asteris’-related phytoplasmas were detected in Toona ciliata from Jampui Hills. This study suggests the presence of a wide genetic diversity of phytoplasmas infecting different crops and weeds in the Tripura state of India.

Adoption of true potato seed (TPS) technology by the potato farmers ofTripura state

The study was carried out in all the erstwhile 4 (four) districts namely South Tripura, West Tripura, Dhalai and North Tripura with 240 potato farmers to ascertain adoption level of recommended practices TPS technology by the potato farmers, find out the relationship between personal characteristics of TPS farmers and adoption of TPS cultivation practice and reasons for nonadoption of TPS technology by the potato farmers. Out of 240 potato farmers 186 potato farmers have adopted the TPS technology fully (75 nos.) or partially (111 nos.). As per overall adoption, 40.32 percent of TPS farmers had high adoption behavior on TPS cultivation practices followed by medium adoption behaviour (33.33 %). Category wise, 48.00 per cent of the total marginal farmers (131 nos.) and 36.67 per cent of the total small farmers (75 nos.), 16.00 per cent of the total medium farmers (31 nos.); and 1.33 per cent of the total big farmers (3 nos.) have adopted TPS technology fully. The adoption of TPS cultivation technology was found to be positively and significantly correlated with their education, social participation, innovativeness, scientific orientation, economic motivation, knowledge at 1 per cent level of significance and mass media participation and contact with extension agency at 5 per cent level of significance. Different TPS cultivation practice wise maximum adoption were found in time, spacing and depth of seed sowing in nursery bed. Reasons for non-adoption of TPs technology by different categories of potato farmers showed that complexity in nature of technology, scarcity in skilled labour, lack of technical skill, risky technology and non-economical, no knowledge and lack of awareness were the major reasons for non-adoption of TPS technology in the study area.

An Overview of Medicinally Important Phyto Resources Used by the Manipuri Community of North Tripura District of Tripura, North East India

An Overview of Medicinally Important Phyto Resources Used by the Manipuri Community of North Tripura District of Tripura, North East India

Ethnomedicinal plants used by traditional healers of North Tripura district, Tripura, North East India

Ethnopharmacological relevanceInformation about ethnomedicinal plants used by traditional healers in Tripura, India is very much limited. As there is rapid erosion of traditional knowledge in the state, needs has arisen to document the diversity of medicinal plants, their preparation and associated diseases. Aim of the studyAttempts have been made to explore the herbal medicines used by the traditional healers belonging to the various communities in North Tripura district of Tripura, India and document the associated traditional knowledge on the utilisation of medicinal plants. Materials and methodsThe study was based on ethnomedicinal field survey covering a period of 1 year from February 2012 to February 2013. The ethnomedicinal information was collected by using semi-structured questionnaires from different healers and knowledge holders. Collected data were analysed through informant consensus factor, Index of Specialisation and Relative frequency of citation to determine culturally significant plants. ResultsA total of 75 species of plants under 68 genera belonging to 43 families were collected during the study for the treatment of 15 disease categories. Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts and most of the medicines were prepared in the form of extract and administered orally. FIC values of the present study indicated that there was a high agreement in the use of plants in the treatment of digestive system disorders and respiratory system disorders among the healers. Plants having high ISu are Justicia adhatoda, Pajanelia longifolia, Catharanthus roseus etc. ConclusionThe present study highlighted certain species having higher priority indices for further phytochemical investigation. Counselling of traditional health practitioners should be taken into consideration in order to smooth continuation and extension of traditional medical knowledge and practice for ensuring safe and effective therapy.

PORTRAYAL OF FOLK MEDICINAL PRACTICES AMONG THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF NORTH TRIPURA DISTRICT OF TRIPURA, INDIA

North east India is the richest reservoir of plant diversity in India and one of the ‘biodiversity hotspot’ of the world. Tripura , which is a hilly state of th is region, is also rich in plant diversity. North Tripura district of Tripura is comprising of mostly forest area and of which 82.67 % population living in rural areas has high practices of traditional medicin e for different disease condition s . This st udy on folk medicinal practice wa s done in order to document the existing folk drugs and treatment procedures among the peoples of North Tripura district of Tripura with a view to provide lead material for the discovery of new drugs of natural origin. For this local health practitioner, village head, el derly experienced persons were interviewed during 2012 - 2013 in the medico - ethno botanical survey of North Tripura and folk medicinal claims were documented. Present study reveals first - hand information on 4 8 folk medicinal claims having plant parts, animal products and miner als. Enumeration of the claims we re arranged according to disease condition wise providing information on scientific names of the used folk drugs followed by local name, Sanskrit name, parts used, method of use with dose and duration as informed by the claimants and their relevant properties as per Ayurvedic texts. The documented folk medicinal claims have both single herb preparation and compound formulations.