DIVERSITY OF ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY MISING TRIBE OF DHEMAJI DISTRICT, ASSAM.

Abstract

An attempt has been made to study of Ethnomedicinal plants used by Mising tribe of Dhemaji district, Assam for the treatment of 48 different diseases like Jaundice, Diabetes, Asthma, Dysentery, Muscular pain, Tonsillitis, Uvulitis, Ringworm, Kidney problem, Small pox, Lactation problem etc. Main aim of the study is to document the indigenous knowledge of the Mising tribe. In this study a total of 142 plant species belonging to 63 families were collected. The prominent family was Euphorbiaceae with 7 species and leaf is used majority of cases with 67 species for the treatment of different diseases. Other different used parts are rhizome, flower, fruit, bark, root, whole plant, seed etc. Copy Right, IJAR, 2018,. All rights reserved.Since ancient time, plants have been an integral part in the existence of human being. Our ancestors dependent upon plants for food, clothing, shelter and many other materials. They derived most of their medicine from plants. It is estimated that a total of 80% of the population in developing countries and 60% of the world population depend on traditional medicines mostly plant drugs for their primary health care needs (Baker et al., 1995; Shrestha and Dhillion, 2003). Pei (2001), estimated that traditional healers use around 2500 plant species in the preparation of traditional medicine in India. According to world health organization, almost 80% of the rural people rely most exclusively on traditional medicine for their primary health care. Also it is assumed that about 80% of the 5200 million people of the world live in less developed country. According to Kattamani, et al., (2000), more than 75% of the world population depends on local health practitioners and traditional medicines for their primary needs.