Keywords

Andro village, Meitei Chakpa community, Folk-medicare, Medicinal plants, Dietary use, Cultivation, Conservation.

Introduction

Ethno-medico-botany is one of the tools that deal with the direct relationship of plants and men to prevent and cure ailments [1,2]. The rich and diverse traditional knowledge on the uses of medicinal plants and its practices in health care by the various ethnic communities of Northeast India remains as poorly documented. Manipur one of the eight states of Northeast India being under the ‘Indo-Burma’ biodiversity Hotspot region and Eastern Himalayas [3] is blessed with rich and diverse bioresources including wild edibles and medicinally important plants. The diverse rural communities depend mainly on plants and animals to fulfillment of their basic need of food and healthcare and support significant local economy. They collect useful plants resources from various habitats and utilize them using indigenous knowledge and practices[4]. With the advancement of science and technology, changing of surrounding habitats and environment, traditional practices and uses of bioresources is still alive in rural and remote corners, where people are still by and large dependent on traditional medicines as the first line of defense for various ailments [5]. The diverse traditional knowledge system leads to discovery or development of numerous medicine or drugs used in this modern era [6]. Human dependence on wild edible plants for dietary requirements throughout the world is well known. Many of today’s cultivated high yielding crops were one time grown in the wild. Wild edible plants play a vital role in compaction of nutritional requirements especially for those inhabitants in hilly regions where agricultural productions are less. In the recent years, the importance and need of proper documentation of traditional knowledge system is realizing and study survey works are taken up from different parts of the world [7].

In many smaller pockets of India particularly in northeastern region, the traditional knowledge system of health care and healing practices are still prominent. The people of Manipur have traditionally been dependent on the wild plants and animals for various cultural and religious purposes for Centuries [8] and many of these species are sold in local markets thus provide means of livelihood and local economy. The communities are closely associated with wild plants and animals from birth of a child to death of a person. It is ironical to note that dead of a person at home of Manipur is still authenticated and declared by local practitioners (locally called Maiba/Beita) not by medical doctors. Due to rapid declination of medicinal plants due to extraction pressure in wild habitat and inclination of its demand, now people have started cultivation of some of these species in their private lands and farms for personal use and local trade.

A sizeable ethnomedicinal reports of Manipur state particularly for Meitei community are available [9-18]. No documented report on ethnomedicinal uses of Meitei Schedule Caste Chakpa community of Manipur is available. We felt that Andro being a fairly isolated village at the foothill of Nongmaiching and the Chakpa community inhabited there is one of the oldest settlers of the state are having unique culture and lifestyle, the ethnomedicinal knowledge system and practices might have unique characteristics and of interest. The present study is attempted to document the folkmedicare system of Chakpa community of Manipur in northeast India which will be the first hand baseline data and documented report on the above.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Area & Chakpa Caste

The Andro is a tiny and fairly isolated village situated at 94o 2′ 47″ E and 24o 44′ 27″ N in the eastern border of Imphal East district of Manipur state, northeast India (Figure 1). The village is situated at the foot hill of Nongmaiching / Baruni hill which is about 25 kilometers away from Imphal, the state capital of Manipur and extends a geographical area of about 4 km2. The people of Andro belong to Scheduled Caste (SC) community commonly known as Chakpa, and are one of the 7 schedule castes present in the state. The village is broadly divided into 3 settlements namely, (i) Andro-Machingpat, (ii) Andro-Khunjao and (iii) Andro-Khuman (Figure 1). No proper market(s) exist inside the Andro village. Marketing (selling and purchasing) of items are generally done in Yairipok Keithel which is about 4 km away from Andro village. According to 2001 Census, the human population of Andro village was 8316 (Male - 4176, Female - 4140) with an average literacy rate of 47% which is fairly lower than the Indian national average of 59.5%. Around 16% of the population was under 6 years of age 19. The area received an average rainfall of 200 cm with temperature range between 1-38°C in a temporal cycle.

Figure 1: Location map of the study sites

The Chakpa is one of the indigenous communities and oldest settler of Manipur which is still following their indigenous socio-religious customs and practices which are very much peculiar with the rest communities of the state. They got their own traditional system of food habit and largely depend upon wild vegetables and animals. Pork is a favourite dish among the meats. Local wine (rice beer locally called as Yu) is generally offered to God and Deities and people are permitted to drink the wine during festivals. The traditional system of local wine preparation was generally practiced in around 70-80% families. A glass of wine is generally offered to guests as a customary practice and respect of the guest. Pottery is another traditional knowledge and practice of the community and majority of the villagers are engaged in this profession which is another major source of livelihood and local employment. In this modern age, the housing technology is based on the advice of traditional scholars locally called Maiba/Panji, with certain principle like houses are generally facing towards east direction and are mostly made of mud-wall, roofed with thatch materials locally called Ee (Imperata cylindrica). Foundation stone of a house is done by Maiba on selected days with certain ritual functions. Each family of Chakpa community is worshiped the Sanamahi- Lainingthou (home deity) which is designated at the south-western corner of the house.

At this age of modern medical sciences, the Chakpa community is still practicing the traditional system of health care and healing by using medicinal herbs and other components. Modern medicines of allopathy and family planning programme are less popular in this community. They depend significantly upon wild plants for treatment of various ailments and diseases and have a rich traditional knowledge system of using medicinal plants. Traditionally used medicinal plants are conserved In-situ in sacred grooves locally called Chakpa Panam Ningthou, Pureiromlaba, Chingsomba and Amamlok. Moreover, medicinal plants were cultivated and conserved ex-situ in their home gardens prominently by traditional herbal practitioners. Over 90% of villagers consult these traditional healers before attending Government established health centers except in critical health conditions.

The Chakpa caste of Andro village, regardless of having a rich and profound traditional knowledge on folk medicine does not have any written document or coded form about the traditional uses of medicinal plants and health care and practices. The mode of transfer of this traditional knowledge has been by words from one generation to another. Thus, considering the threat of being diffused and lost of these important information and knowledge, the present study aims at proper documentation of the unexplored rich folk medicinal plants and knowledge of treatment practices by Chakpa community.

Methods

The methods employed in this study were designed with the purpose of providing baseline information on the use of plants by Meitei schedule caste Chakpa of Andro village through detailed survey during 2011- 2013. Before undertaking the study Prior Informed Consent (PIC) was taken from the community leaders and elderly persons to conduct surveys in the Andro village on holistic profile study on community medicare system based on plant species. In the PIC, the community was assured to provide the documents / published data resulted from the present study to preserve in their local community library. Open-ended and semi- structured interviews were taken on monthly basis (second Saturday of every month) visiting their home of each professional traditional healers (n=21; 7 each from 3 settlements) and elders of both men and women (n=63; 21 each from 3 settlements) who have significant knowledge on medicinal plants and healthcare. Ethnomedicinal information on broad themes like dermatological problems (boils, skin itching, leprosy, face burnt), dental (mouth freshener, toothache), respiratory problems (cough, dry cough, fever, high fever, typhoid, tonsils, pneumonia), gastrointestinal (dysentery, diarrhoea, stomach complaints, constipation, piles, jaundice), gynecology problems (white discharge, irregular menstruation), urological problems (stone case, kidney problems), diabetes, cut and wounds, malaria, hypertension, orthopadetric and others (revitalization of child, body weight reducing) were recorded by visiting the houses of the informants and also group discussion with the herbal healers.

Collection of such data were followed some standard methods20-22. The ethnomedicinal data were collected from 3 settlements namely, (i) Andro-Machingpat (ii) Andro- Khunjao and (iii) Andro-Khuman who shared a common language, culture and tradition. The data on ethnomedicinal uses of the plants collected were cross-checked amongst these 3 settlements and consensus information/data were recorded as final data. For assessing collection ‘Source’ of raw medicinal herbs ranking was done with the resource persons and community members as ‘Wild’, ‘Cultivated’ and both ‘Wild+Cultivated’. For ‘Availability’ status the species was ranked based on field observations of the authors, market availability trend and interaction with collectors and the user groups as ‘Extensively available’, ‘Commonly available’, ‘Available but not so common’ and ‘Rare’. Market survey was conducted in Yairipok Keithel (around 4 km away from the Andro village and having around 110 vendors) which is the biggest and nearest market to the Andro village for record of sellable species and pricing. Market prices were recorded 6 times (January, March, May, July, September and November) during the year 2013 and the mean value was calculated. Market prices were poole into per kilogram basis.

The samples of all the species were collected and identified as to their scientific names and families with the help of experts and through the Botanical Survey of India, Northeast Circle, Shillong, India and scientific literatures [7,23-27]. The vouchers were collected for all species, prepared herbarium following standard techniques and deposited in the herbarium of CSIR NEIST Branch Laboratory, Imphal, Manipur, India.

RESULTS

Ethnomedicinal Uses

A total of 63 plant species belonging to 56 genera and 42 families were recorded which are used for medicinal purpose in traditional system by the Chakpa caste of Andro village in Manipur, Northeast India (Table 1). Amongst these plants the most dominant species were by the family Lamiaceae (5 species), followed by Verbenaceae (4 species), Acanthaceae, Liliaceae, Rutaceae, Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae (3 species each), Asteraceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Meliaceae and Poaceae (2 species each) while the 29 families are represented by single species (Figure 2). These medicinal plants are herbs, shrubs, trees and climbers (Table 2). More than 40% of the species are herbs which are followed by trees (17 species), shrubs (15 species) and climbers (5 spe 3a). Amongst the plant parts used for medicinal purposes, the use of leaf was most common (42.9%), followed by fruits/seeds (9 species). The other plant parts used were whole plant (8 species), shoot (6 species), rhizome (5 species), flower/i bark, stem and roots (2 species each) while single species Allium ascalonicum use of bulb (Figure 3b). The people collected these medicinally used plants from (i) wild habitat (ii) cultivated or (iii) both cultivated and wild habitat (Table 2). More than 55% of the plants were solely collected from wild habitat, 15 species were solely cultivated in private lands/home gardens while the rest 13 species were both collected from wild habitat as well as cultivated (Figure 4a). Out of the 63 ethnomedicinal plants, 29 plants were generally sold in local markets (Table 2). The two plants namely, Allium ascalonicum and Centella asiatica the whole plant parts were sold whereas other plants were sold by their parts like shoot, leaf, fruit, rhi flower/inflorescence, etc. (Table 2). Dendrocalamus hamiltonii was sold by their culms. The highest price was fetched by flowers of Iris bakeri ( 380/kg), followed by the price of pods of Parkia timoriana 270/kg), leaf of Piper betle rhizome of Zingiber cassumunar etc. while the cheapest was by shoot of succedanea ( 25/kg) (Table 2). The flowers of Iris bakeri were sole only during the Manipuri New Year locally called Cheiraoba (which generally falls dur early part of April month). This flower is must used in celebration of Manipuri New Year symbolizing peace and prosperity. Availability status study of species showed 16 species extensively available, 17 species were commonly available, 20 species were available but not so common while the rest 10 species showed as rare species (Figure 4b). Amongst the rare species, lakoocha, Celtis timorensis, Gonostegia sp. and I. bakeri were reported more critical. The I. bakeri locally called Kombirei is now completely vanished in the wild habitat, only small population are maintained in home gardens and pots.

Table 1: Ethnomedicinal uses of plants by the Chakpa community of Andro village of Manipur

Table 2: Habit, source of collection, marketability and availability status of 63 medicinal plants used by Chakpa community

Figure 2: No. of ethnomedicinally used plant species represented in families

Figure 3: No. of ethnomedicinal species representation (a) Plant habit (b) Parts use

Figure 4: No. of ethnomedicinal plants species representation (a) Collection Source (b) Availability status

It is significant to note that 63 plant species were used to treat over 25 diseases and ailments (Figure 5). Amongst these plants, 15 species were used in treatment of multiple diseases while rest 48 species were used to treat single disease. Acorus calamus was used in treatment of highest number of diseases like viral fever, piles, vomiting and diarrhea followed by Oroxylum indicum that was used to treat 3 diseases like fever, hypertension and jaundice. The highest numbers of 10 species were used in treatment of menstrual disorder, followed by 9 species to treat urinary disorder and kidney problems (Figure 5). The other uses were burnt/boils (7 species), fever and tonsillitis (6 species each), piles (5 species), cuts/wounds, diabetes, diarhoea/dysentery and toothache (4 species each), cough, hypertension and stomachic (3 species each), bone fracture and skin diseases (2 species each) and the diseases like constipation, health tonic, jaundice, leprosy, malaria, mouth freshener, obesity, pneumonia, typhoid and vomiting were treated by single species (Figure 5). In around 20% of the herbal preparations, honey was used as an important ingredient. Traditionally prepared common salt locally called Meitei-Thum was also used in some formulations. Some formulations were prepared by using single plant while some were prepared by more than one plant. Some of them are Achyranthes aspera, Verbena officinalis and Scutelleria discolor together in treatment of menstrual disorder; Arundo donax, Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus and S. discolor together in treatment of obesity; Clerodendrum siphonanthes and P. betle together in treatment of tonsillitis and sinusitis; Jasminum multiflorum and Nelumbo nucifera together in treatment of diabetes; Mentha spicata and Zanthoxylum acanthopodium together in treatment of tonsillitis; P. thyrsiflorus, S. discolor and Swertia chirata together in treatment of menstrual disorder (Table 1). In some peculiar cases, mercuric chloride locally called Lupa-hidak was added as an ingredient with pounded leaves of Solanum anguivi for treatment of severe pneumonia. In another case leaves of J. multiflorum was boiled with marble (white stone) for treatment of calculi.

Figure 5: No. of species represented in disease types

Edibility of ethnomedicinal plants

Out of the 63 ethnomedicinally used plants by the Chakpa community, 26 species were used as food in traditional cuisines in the form of vegetables, spices, snacks and fruits (Table 3). The main traditional cuisines of Chakpa community were Eronba, Kangsoi, Singju, Oottii, Ametpa, Kangou, Pakoura, etc. (Table 3). Amongst the uses, 17 species were used as vegetables, 11 species as spices, 3 species as fruits and 2 species used as snacks (Figure 6a). Some of the plants like Allium ascalonicum, Allium odorum, Alpinia allughas and Mentha spicata were used as both spices and vegetables. Twenty one species were consumed occasionally (consumed not more than once in a week or in certain occasions) while the rest 5 species namely, A. odorum, Capsicum annum, Citrus macroptera, Musa paradisiaca and Nelumbo nucifera were frequently used (Table 3). In a single plant, more than one parts were eaten like stem and inflorescence in case of M. paradisiaca; shoot, root and fruit in case of N. nucifera; leaf and inflorescence in case of Ocimum basilicum and Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus; fruit and inflorescence in case of Parkia timoriana (Plate 1a); fruit and leaf in case of Punica granatum and Zanthoxylum acanthopodium; fruit and shoot in case of Rhus succedanea (Table 3). Edible parts of the plant were fruit (11 species), leaf (6 species), flower/inflorescence (5 species), rhizome and shoot (3 species each), whole plant (2 species each), stem and root (single species each) (Figure 6b). In around half of the food preparations, dry fish (locally called Nga-akangba) or smoked fish (locally called Nga-ayaiba) or fermented fish (locally called Nga-ri) were used. Some of the edible plants were cuisine-specific like leaf of Z. acanthopodium (Plate 1b) in preparation of snails; fruit cover of Citrus macroptera (Plate 1c) used in fish cooking, inflorescence of Elsholtzia blanda in preparation of Eronba and Ametpa; leaf of Murraya koenigii in beans preparation locally called Hawai-thongba; leaf of P. granatum in Ootti preparation; and rhizome of Zingiber cassumunar was in meat cooking (Table 3). The rhizome of Z. cassumunar used in meat cooking especially for big animals not only for aroma / flavour but also for softening of the meat. Leaf of Z. acanthopodium was must in snail cooking. The tender pods of Oroxylum indicum (Plate 1d) cooked with smoked / dried fish and served as a delicacy. The rhizome of Alpinia galanga (Plate 1e) along with little quantity of fermented fish smashed together and prepared a dish called Ametpa and served with pungent taste. In many of the cuisines like Eronba, Ametpa, Kangsoi, Chamthong, Singju, etc., edible oils are not used. The cuisine namely, Nongmangkha-soutani was served during traditional/religious feasts only (Table 3).

Figure 6: No. of edible plant species representation in (a) Edibility types (b) Edible parts

Plate 1: Edible plants having ethnomedicinal uses (a) Pods of Parkia timoriana (b) Fruiting twig of Zanthoxylum acanthopodium (c) Slices of fruit cover of Citrus macroptera (d) Pods of Oroxylum indicum (e) Rhizome of Alpinia galanga

Table 3: Ethnomedicinal plants which are used as food by Chakpa community

DISCUSSION

Atleast 63 plants were used by Chakpa community of Manipur in health care and treatment of diseases/ailments. A total of 361 medicinal plants are reported from Manipur7. A report of 51 economic plants (medicinal and food) from the wetlands of Manipur is available29. Treatment of 21 types of disease and complicacies using 23 spices and aromatic plants by ethnic people of Manipur were studied16. Around 2.4% of the land area of Manipur is under wetlands [30] supports varieties of economic plants including medicinal and aromatic plants. A study on wetland bioresources of Manipur highlighted 38 plant species having ethnomedicinal properties for treatment of 22 diseases and ailments [29]. This community has skill in formulations of herbal medicines for local applications.

According to 2001 Census, there are limited healthcare centers and doctors in the state of Manipur. Population served per medical centre was 4213; 954 person per hospital bed and 2517 person per doctor. Most of the healthcare centres are and hospitals are mainly concentrated in Imphal (state capital) and medical facilities in remote areas are very limited. On the other hand, local healers have considerable role and reputation in village healthcare [31].

Most remedies were prepared by simply boiling the ingredients (26 species). Regarding part used leaves, whole plant, shoots, fruits and rhizome were the most frequently used plant parts while bark, root, stem, seed, culm, flower and inflorescence used to a lesser extent. Maximum number of mode of administration of Chakpa caste is in liquid form while solid form is very less. Honey played a vital role in healthcare of Chakpa as more than half of the herbal formulations honey was used as an important ingredient. Honey bee culture was observed in Andro village.

Wild edible species form a good source of minerals for the local residents at different parts of the globe [32-34]. Also reported that wild edible plants form a good source of protein, fat, vitamins, sugars and minerals and interestingly they are available during different months/seasons of the year35. Out of 63 plant species, 26 plants were reported consumed as food by Chakpa community in various forms like vegetable, fruit, spices, snacks, etc. It is significant to note that Chakpa community regularly consumed many of the medicinal herbs in their diet with the very concept “wild food plants as medicine and medicinal plants as food”. Substantial quantity and varieties of wild edible and medicinal plants are generally sold in local markets of Manipur.

Ethnobotanical studies not only identify products which may have local or national commercial value [36], but more importantly they provide a framework for the integration of such knowledge into development initiatives 37, and identification of key habitats for conservation [38]. In the recent times, the collection of medicinal plants has not only been for personal use but also to sell to local markets or to suppliers which in tern sell them in bigger markets [39]. Frequent harvesting of these medicinal plants often resulted in overexploitation. The rate of harvesting has been increasing dayby- day due to increase in human population and also collection for local trade. Moreover, due to shrinkage of natural habitats the availability of plant resources has been registering a declining trend during recent years [29]. It has also been observed that natural habitats are destructed due to land development like urbanization, house construction, road development and establishment of schools, colleges and other departments. Frequent and overexploitation of species may lead a threat to their survival in near future as was observed for some species in Northeastern States [40]. Community dependence on surrounding bioresources in terms of food and medicine in Manipur are paramount [41]. Overexploitation due to the unprecedented interest and demand for plants with medicinal properties and potency for treatment of various ailments as reported in the Borno State of Nigeria [42], contrary to it, for the Chakpa community of Manipur, it was encouraging because more than 40% of the medicinal and edible plants had already started cultivation in their private lands. Insitu conservation in the form of sacred grooves locally called Panam Ningthou, Pureiromlaba, Chingsomba and Amamlok is an excellent example of Chakpa community’s traditional knowledge, skill and practices in conservation of biodiversity. As reported in other part [43], medicinal plants will continue to play an important role in primary healthcare sector in Andro village due to the peoples strong tradition and faith on the practice. But how long this conservation practice could continue is a big question that needs to be addressed immediately. Now, people have realized the need for conservation and cultivation of these life saving plants and commercial scale cultivation has been started in recent times. The present study findings may provide valuable insight for proper management and future planning of bioresources mainly medicinal and edible plants for Andro village.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present documentation, the close association of the Chakpa caste with their natural environment and their awareness of the usefulness of the rich 63 medicinal and edible plant resources are highlighted. Around 40% of the species were cultivated in private lands which is a good indication for sustainable management of these plant species. The study findings provide a valuable insight into the potential utilization and production of species and such information may be used to identify particular species worthy of further investigation, while contributing towards the local and national sustainable exploitation of biodiversity database particularly medicinal herbs and food plants. Some of the medicinal-cum-food plants may undergo further investigation to evaluate nutritional values that may further developed into economically viable crops. The tradition use of plants as medicine is still practiced in these remote area and they prefer the use of folk medicare system instead of going to the hospital except in critical health conditions. The result could be due to easily availability of medicinal plants as the study area is at the foot hill of Nongmaiching hill and moreover most of the folk medicare systems were based on home prepared remedies. Other than the home prepared remedies this people turn to the traditional healers for treatment of severe health condition with medicinal plants because of low cost and readily available. Poor economic condition is taken as another factor for use of medicinal plants in day-to-day health care and treatment as modern treatments are fairly expensive.

It is of interest to know that some of the plants have their new medicinal uses. For instance, Allium ascalonicum, Scutellaria discolor and Musa paradisiaca were used to treat white discharge problem, Artemisia nilagirica for dysentery, Mentha spicata, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium for treatment of tonsillitis, Oroxylum indicum for blood pressure reduction, Paederia foetida, Phoenix humilis for boils, Crataeva nurvala for bone fracture healing, Jasminum multiflorum for stone case (calculi), Xylosma longifolia for skin itching, Ricinus communis for piles and Arundo donax for reducing body weight. But there is a need to determine the active components of these medicinal plants and perform bioassays to test its efficacy. This paper is the first hand database of medicinal plants of Chakpa community of Manipur, India and will be made it available in the Community Library of Andro village.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Authors thank Director, CSIR: North-East Institute of Science & Technology, Jorhat for providing facilities and permission to publish this work. The traditional herbal practitioners, elderly people and other informants of Andro village and market vendors of Thoubal bazaar who have provided the vital information are duly acknowledged.

Authors’ contributions

ST carried out surveys at Andro village and organized interview schedules with local traditional healers and collected information on medicinal plants, their use pattern and processing. He also compiled and designs the manuscript. DSN and ChC participated in market surveys and surveys at Andro village. They also prepared vouchers specimen of all medicinal plant species into the herbarium and identified them to species level. HBS participated in the design and coordination of the study, species identification and compiled the information in the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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