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Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies
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P-ISSN: 2394-0530, E-ISSN: 2320-3862

2015, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part B

Indigenous medicinal practices of rural communities in respect use of the non-timber forest products in Indian central Himalaya

Girish Chandra Pant

Indian Central Himalayan region is characterized by a rich heritage of indigenous medicine practices. Indigenous medicinal practices in rural communities of the area are being passed orally hence gradually vanishing in new generations. Documentation of such knowledge accessible with rural communities is vital. Failure to document this indigenous knowledge would represent a tremendous economic and scientific loss to mankind. Therefore, an effort has been made to document the Indigenous medicinal practices in which Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are used by rural communities in this region of India. The study revealed that women possess more knowledge than men about this therapy. About 89.33% people using various plants parts (NTFPs), mostly collected from wild forest, of medicinal plants as healers of different ailments. Their preference for wild sources compared to planted medicinal plants due to the belief that plant parts collected from the former are more effective than those from planted ones. People of the region are frequently using NTFPs of 70 plant species as medicine for curing 28 common diseases, representing to 45 families, and majority of them are collected from the forest and life form wise belonged to trees followed by shrubs, Herb and climber. The species richness is highest for Moraceae; leaves are identified as most frequently used NTFP having medicinal values and contributes in curing a verity of diseases.
Utilization pattern of NTFPs of the documented plants by rural communities
Fig.: Utilization pattern of NTFPs of the documented plants by rural communities
Pages : 101-107 | 1775 Views | 96 Downloads
How to cite this article:
Girish Chandra Pant. Indigenous medicinal practices of rural communities in respect use of the non-timber forest products in Indian central Himalaya. J Med Plants Stud 2015;3(2):101-107.
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