Abstract
The present study documents the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used in the Alaknanda catchment of Uttarakhand state in India. Ethnomedicinal uses of 100 medicinal plant species along with botanical name, vernacular name, family, habit, part used and folk medicinal uses are presented. They belong to 91 genera and 51 families. These plants have been used to cure 60 types of different ailments out of the 58 plant species used to cure more than one disease. The most widely sought after plant parts in the preparation of remedies are the underground parts such as root, tuber, bulb, rhizome etc. Most of the remedies were reported to have been from herbal species. Approximately 70% of the population was found dependent on herbal treatments and the remaining 30% of the population was dependent on an allopathic form of treatment. In this study it was found that maximum 69% veteran of female category in Berahi valley prefer to visit traditional Vaidyas (traditional herbal practitioners) for curing ailments. The study emphasizes the potentials of the ethnobotanical research and the need for the documentation of traditional knowledge pertaining to the medicinal plant utilization for the greater benefit of mankind.
Recommended Citation
Phondani, P. C.; Maikhuri, R. K.; and Bisht, N. S.
(2009)
"Medicinal Plants Used in the Health Care System Practiced by Traditional Vaidyas in Alaknanda Catchment of Uttarakhand, India,"
Ethnobotanical Leaflets: Vol. 2009:
Iss.
12, Article 4.
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ebl/vol2009/iss12/4