2025, Vol. 13, Issue 2, Part C

Objective: The primary goal is to determine which plant components are most and least utilized by the tribal people of the Khallikote area of Ganjam district, Odisha, India, as well as their ethnomedical value.

Methods: It involves interviewing renowned healers to document their knowledge of the therapeutic applications of plants and using the snowball approach and sampling method to document their thorough understanding of the medicinal qualities of various plants. Local practitioners identify plants on the forest floor that are also referred to as Kaviraj or Vaidya, and they are categorized botanically.

Results: With particular reference to cold, cough, fever, and respiratory issues, the current study documents the use of various portions of 37 plant species, belonging to 34 genera of 24 families, against 19 human illnesses. These plants are used by practitioners to cure a variety of ailments, including cuts, wounds, insect bites, skin conditions, hair issues, fever, cough, and cold. Since there are no contemporary medical facilities in the area, all of these medicinal plants are employed as sources of healing. Use value (UV) is used to analyze the gathered data. The most common and widely used medicinal plant species in the research region include Saraca asoca (UV of 0.5), Kalanchoe pinnata (UV of 0.5), Averrhoa carambola (UV of 0.5), Piper betel (UV of 0.5), and Emblica officinalis (UV of 0.44).

Conclusion: The Khallikote region yielded 37 different plant species. Due to the strong beliefs of the local practitioners, it is discovered that many tribal people still employ their traditional knowledge and culture, and they have accepted herbal medicine for the majority of ailments.