Current outlook and future promise of ethnomedicinal study in Western Odisha, India: An overview

Abstract

The indigenous folk medicinal practices in India has received the utmost significance in healing a wide range of acute and chronic ailments since the early Vedic period. Odisha is one of India's tribal belts where tribal peoples embrace 11.95 % of global biodiversity in diverse ways. The Western region of Odisha, characterized by abundant forests and hills, is predominantly inhabited by over 60 tribal communities, including the Kutia Kandha, Binjhals, Gond, Krishan, Khadia and Luhura etc. These tribes rely on forest resources for their daily needs and medicinal herbs. This review aims to compile and analyze information on medicinal plants and their therapeutic properties documented in various regions of Western Odisha by different researchers and also to identify their research gaps. It is also possible to determine which plants are most commonly used against most frequently suffering ailments that will aid in a more in-depth investigation of those species. It could offer new information about how to develop a unique drug. On the subject of medico-folklore and pharmacognosy in different districts of Western Odisha, literature and data from various journals, databases and books, have been gathered, analyzed and the missing regions have been discovered. According to the findings, many locations in Western Odisha have not been visited recently for research. The seasonal tour of the forest parcels with local healers may unearth undiscovered therapeutic plants. Native tribes are a precious source of herbal medicines, as they have practiced from generation to generation. Proper documentation followed by pharmacological analysis and clinical trial is very essential for the discovery of natural remedies that benefit both ecological sustainability and human health.