An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used against jaundice by tea tribes of Morigaon District, Assam (India)

Abstract

The present study was conducted to document the ethnomedicinal plants used against jaundice by the tea tribes of Morigaon district of Assam, India. An ethnomedicinal field study was carried out from June 2016 - July 2017. Information was gathered by using a semi-structured questionnaire about the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used against jaundice by the tea tribes of Morigaon district of Assam. Documented data was evaluated using the quantitative ethno-botanical indices of fidelity level (FL), Use Value (UV) and Family Use Value (FUV). From the ethno-botanical investigation, a total of 39 species of plants covering 36 genera and 27 families respectively have been enumerated. A total of 53 informants aged from 20-75 years were interviewed to record the ethnomedicinal data. Lamiaceae was the dominant family. Among the plant portions, leaves were most frequently used. Among the 39 medicinal plant species recognized mostly were herbs. The plants species having the highest use value were Drymaria cordata trailed by Xylosma longifolia and Achyranthes aspera, Aegle marmelos, Alstonia scholaris and Justicia gendarussa. The fidelity level was 100% for Achyranthes aspera, Cheilocostus speciosus, Clerodendrum infortunatum, Justicia gendarussa, Lawsonia inermis, Coffea benghalensis and Saccharum officinarum. The tea tribes of Morigaon district still relies on herbal therapies for curing jaundice. Coffea benghalensis has not been previously reported as a remedy of jaundice from Northeast India. Further research is needed to investigate the phytochemistry and pharmacological effectiveness of the plant species that could be the basis for the isolation and development of some novel phyto-therapeutic active compounds in the future.