Ethnomedicinal plants used by Galo Community of West Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

The present study has documented the various ethno-medicinal plants used by Galo community of West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. A well-designed questionnaire based survey was conducted in the study area to collect ethnomedicinal plants information. A total of 36 plant species belonging to 20 families and 31 genera were used by Galo Community for various ethnobotanical purposes, among these species 6 were trees, 9 shrubs and 21 herbaceous species. Maximum number of species were recorded from family Asteraceae (6 spp.), followed by Zingiberaceae (4 spp.), Solanaceae, Urticaceae and Araceae (3 spp. each). For preparation of herbal medicine, Galo people mostly they use leave (49%) followed by stem (15%), fruits (13%), Root/Rhizome (13 %), Whole plant (5%) and flower (5%) of the plants. These plant parts are used for curing various common diseases such as diabetes, sinusitis, burn, cut, cough and cold, fever, joint pain, ear and eye problem etc. Some important medicinal plant species are facing threat due to habitat degradation, and unsustainable harvesting in the study area. Findings of this study could be used for strengthening the medicinal plants database of the area, developing medicinal plants conservation plan and selecting plants for future ethnopharmacological studies.