Ethanobotanical Study of Plant Species used by Tribal Communities around Ankai Fort of Yeola Tehsil of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to collect information from traditional healers on the use of medicinal plants in the Ankai, Yeola Tehsil of Nashik District (M.S.) India. The investigation revealed that, the traditional healers used 45 species of plants distributed in 15 families to treat various diseases. The relevant information of plant documented in this paper with regard to their Botanical Name, Habit, Local Name, Family, Origin, Plant part use and utilization by the local people for the common ailments. The documented medicinal plants were mostly used to cure common diseases like cough, cold, piles, diabetes, skin disease, hepatitis, fever and toothache. This study showed that many people in the studied parts of Ankai region of Nashik district still continue to depend on medicinal plants at least for the treatment of primary healthcare. The traditional healers are dwindling in number and there is a grave danger of traditional knowledge disappearing soon since the younger generation is not interested to carry on this tradition.