Review on medicinal plants used by local community of jodhpur district of thar desert

Abstract

The traditional uses of medicinal plants in healthcare practices are providing clues to new areas of research; hence its importance is now well recognized. However, information on the uses of indigenous plants for medicine is not well documented from many rural areas of Rajasthan. Questionnaire surveys, participatory observations and field visits were planned to elicit information on the medicinal plants used by local community of Jodhpur district of Thar desert. The use of 21 plants distributed into 17 families is described. The medicinal plant preparations were applied through different routes of administration like oral, topical or dermal and nasal routes. However, oral application was the highest and most commonly used route of application followed by topical or dermal. Major findings were use of Abrus precatorius for urinary disorders, abortion and contraception; Achyranthes aspera for asthma, cough and gynecological purpose; Acacia catechu as astringent, antidiarrheal, haemostatic and for treatment of skin diseases; Capparis decidua antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory; Euphorbia caducifolia cutaneous eruption, leucoderma, earache and Ziziphus nummularia as antidiarrheal and anti-infective for skin. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information.