Implementation of the Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants for Curing Diseases in the Indian Himalayas and Its Role in Sustainability of Livelihoods and Socioeconomic Development

Munesh Kumar, Sushma Rawat, Bhuvnesh Nagar, Amit Kumar, Nazir A. Pala, Jahangeer A. Bhat, Rainer W. Bussmann, Marina Cabral-Pinto and Ripu Kunwar
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Munesh Kumar: Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar-Garhwal 249161, Uttarakhand, India
Sushma Rawat: Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar-Garhwal 249161, Uttarakhand, India
Bhuvnesh Nagar: Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar 326023, Rajasthan, India
Amit Kumar: School of Hydrology and Water Resources, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Nazir A. Pala: Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir 190025, India
Jahangeer A. Bhat: Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi 284003, Uttar Pradesh, India
Rainer W. Bussmann: Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
Marina Cabral-Pinto: Department of Geosciences, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Ripu Kunwar: Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal, Kathmandu 44600 Nepal

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-26

Abstract: In recent times, the use of traditional herbal medicines in healthcare has declined, particularly amongst the rural population. This implies a risk of losing vital information from previous generations regarding plants and their use in traditional medicine. The objective of this study is to catalog the ways employed by inhabitants of the Garhwal Himalayas as part of their traditional approaches to healthcare. Information was gathered through snowball sampling using a questionnaire combined with informal interviews. This was supplemented by discussions with peers and practitioners prominent in this healing technique. The homogeneity within ethnomedicinal knowledge of these rural residents was tested using the informant consensus factor (Fic). The calculation of the fidelity value (FL) and the cultural importance index (CI) were made regarding the population’s dependency on plants. A total of 88 plant species from 44 families and 80 genera were identified as medicines for various complaints. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part followed by fruits, seeds, roots, bark, and flowers/buds. The largest number of taxa (15 species) were used for treatment of skin ailments (with Fic score of 0.85) followed by wounds, coughs, and digestive problems. There was a significant relationship observed between the medicinal plants used and distance (time of access) and family income. The present study will provide baseline information to be established for future research. The available information could help to discover new drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, the study revealed that the plants that have high scores of FL and CI can be used to discover new drug extraction in the future for further studies.

Keywords: socio-economic factors; Himalayas; healthcare; rural inhabitants; medicinal plant; Forestry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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