Traditional medicinal practices and consensus of inhabitants for health care systems in Himalayas

Abstract

The present study was carried out in the Dhasoli block of district Chamoli, in Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand. The aim of the study was to document the cultural and indigenous knowledge of plant resources for health care management practices among the inhabitants of remote areas of Himalaya. Questionnaire and field visits were used for data collection on different plant species with ethnomedicinal importance. The informants’ consensus factor value ranged from 0.36 to 0.67 with the highest value of 0.67 for a liver disorder. Most dominant plant parts used were roots. Gastrointestinal disorder was treated by the highest number of species (21) followed by (17) species for dermatological disorders and respiratory disorders (17). There is a need for future research for different parts of plants for precise information about the curable ailments of a particular part of the plant which will open further path for pharmacological evaluation of traditional herbal medicine.