Exploring Plant-Based Ethnomedicine and Quantitative Ethnopharmacology: Medicinal Plants Utilized by the Population of Jasrota Hill in Western Himalaya

Abstract

Plants and natural products have played a significant role in curing and preventing a variety of ailments occurring in humans and animals, and continue to provide new bioactive leads for researchers in therapeutic discovery. This study was conducted with the aim to identify and document local healers’ practices of treating human diseases and quantitatively document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants, as well as to highlight the species of public interest for bioprospecting potential. A total of 17 field tours were carried out in 12 regions of Jasrota hill and its adjoining areas of Himalaya. Informants (113) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews and discussions and local guided collections. The results were analyzed using ethnobotanical indices—use-reports (URs) and the informant consensus factor (ICF)—and the data were statistically analyzed. The ethnopharmacological uses of 121 plant species belonging to 105 genera and 53 families were reported for use as medicine for treating 93 types of ailments. A total of 4987 URs were mentioned by 113 informants. Fabaceae (90.09%) and Asteraceae (6.62%) were the most represented families. Herbs (46.28%) were the primary sources of medicine, decoction (33.88%) was the most common use method for utilization, and leaves (43.80%) were the most frequently used plant parts. The ICF values ranged from 0.667 to 0.974, with the highest number of species (1314UR, 55 species) being used for the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments (GIA), followed by dermatological disorders (38 species). This result showed that the exchange of knowledge could be evident among the different communities, and their medicinal uses and practices could be correlated.

Ecological and Plant Community Implication on Essential Oils Composition in Useful Wild Officinal Species: A Pilot Case Study in Apulia (Italy)

“…For thousands of years, humans used natural ecosystems for the purpose of their survival [ 1 ]. Wild medicinal and aromatic plants were and still are a great resource for the daily life of populations [ 2 , 3 ]. They were and are used as food, spices, cosmetics, and perfumes in religious rituals and to treat illnesses and relieve pain [ 4 ].…”

A narrative review of the ethnomedicinal usage of Cannabis sativa Linnaeus as traditional phytomedicine by folk medicine practitioners of Bangladesh

“…Ethnomedicine or traditional medicine knowledge usually refers to the medication of any particular culture that examines local ideas and behaviors of how to treat illness and how to stay healthy (Quinlan 2011). In General, ethnomedicinal knowledge is practiced and passed verbally from one generation to the members of the family of the following generation, and traditional medicine practices by utilizing medicinal plants are now being declined because of modernization and destruction of the medicinal plants, reduction of the interest in the younger generation, and switching to other jobs, but such knowledge of traditional medicine has been a way towards the invention of the many new medicines (Faruque et al 2018, Singh et al 2020.…”

Plantago media L.—Explored and Potential Applications of an Underutilized Plant

“…Accompanying the development of human civilization, plants were commonly used as food, feed or for empirical medicinal purposes [ 1 ]. The development of the modern medicine led to the loss of important ethnomedicinal data, accompanied by the disappearance or the reduction of the growing area of medicinally important plants [ 2 ]. However, the last decades led to the resurrection of alternative, plant-based medicine [ 3 ], together with a search of alternative, “bio” products [ 4 ], as well as the discovery of new potential applications of the vegetal materials [ 5 ].…”