Documentation of ethno-medico-botanical claims of Rabha tribe, Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya

Abstract

AIM: The present survey work aims to explore and document the traditional healing practices of medicinal plants that have been used by the Rabha tribe of Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medico-ethno-botanical survey was carried out in densely populated areas of the Rabha tribe in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. The documentation was carried out according to the standard Local Health Traditions format developed by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences. Traditional knowledge of this tribe was documented through conducting personal interviews of local health practitioners during 2017–2019 along with these digital photographs of medicinal plants were also recorded. RESULTS: In the present study, a total of 17 types of disorders were treated using 28 types of medicinal plants that belong to 27 types of families. It is also found that for the treatment, herbs were mostly used among the life form of the plant (18), followed by leaves among the plant parts (28%), paste among the form of the drug (27%), and oral administration (47%) among the intake of the drug. The documented 28 medicinal plants were cross-checked with published ayurvedic classical text and other related literatures; ethnobotanical data of 12 medicinal plants were matched. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that the preparation of medicine and mode of treatment practiced by the Rabha tribe is unique and required an urgent prerequisite for the documentation of imperiling knowledge of this tribe all over the state.