Ethno-botanical Survey on Medicinal plants used by Tribes of Karanja (Ghadge) Tahsil of Wardha District, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Introduction: Tribals or forest dwellers have much knowledge of the drugs growing around them. Most of this treasure of knowledge has been passed orally without any written documents. It is therefore very important to preserve and protect the traditional knowledge and also to prepare a digital data base of traditional medicine. Aim & Objectives: Ethno-botanical survey on medicinal Plants used by the Tribes of Karanja (Ghadge) Tahsil of Wardha District, Maharashtra, India and to prepare the ethno-botanical database of study area. Material & Methods: Ethno-botanical study was conducted through field surveys. Data was collected using questionnaire, interviews and discussions. The collected data was investigated using specific quantitative parameters including Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Relative popularity level (RPL), Use value (UV), Fidelity level (FL), Relative frequency citation (RFC) and Rank order priority (ROP). Observations & results: Total 7 local informants were interviewed for Ethno-botanical data. Total 65 plants associated to 46 families were verified, authenticated and then recognized with ethno medicinal uses. Informants used 10 types of parts of plant from 6 kind of habitat and do the management of the patients with 6 type of medicinal preparations through 5 routes of administrations. Values obtained by calculating ICF, UV, RFC, FL, RPL and ROP were suggestive of informant’s knowledge regarding particular plant species in treating the particular ailment. Conclusion: The present work would be useful in identification of newer species and their therapeutic applications.