Description

There is an ethnobotanical report on the medicinal plants utilized by the inhabitants of Nagaland, which is in northeastern India. 33 plant species from 28 families were examined in detail, together with their local names, traditional uses, sources, sections of the plant used, bioactive substances found and methods for making medicines from the plants. Adhatoda vasica (Kicharangnaro, Malabar-nut), Ageratum conzyoides (Imchenriza, Billy-goat-weed,/Tropical-white-weed), Rauvolfia serpentina (Per-mozutong, Indian-snakeroot), Catharanthus roseus (Tsuinrinaro, Periwinkle) and Acacia pennata (Chakrangaing, Ballikhadira) are a few examples. Although plant based medications have been widely used and successful in Nagaland since ancient times, there is still a dearth of comprehensive scientific evidence supporting their efficacy, active chemical components, mode of action, etc. Such a review can be helpful to a wide range of researchers, including pharmacologists and phytochemists, and it may help uncover new sources of innovative medications using traditional medicinal knowledge. Semistructured interviews, focus groups, and field observations with local informants were used to gather the data. The data was analyzed using informant consensus factor, preference ranking and direct matrix ranking. In all, 63 species of medicinal plants from 59 genera and 41 families were identified. With six and five species, respectively, the Lamiaceae and Asteraceae families were the most common ones found. Twelve (19.05%) of the documented medicinal plant species were utilized for animal health problems, while 53 (80.95%) were employed for human ailments. With 35% of the documented species of medicinal plants, shrubs make up the largest group. In 59% of cures for human diseases, leaves were the most commonly employed plant parts. Herbal remedies were mostly used orally to cure a variety of illnesses. performance as well as muscle repair.

Conservation of medicinal plants

The growth of agriculture and the gathering of firewood were identified as the two main threats to these medicinal plants. With species like Eucalyptus globulus, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and Lepidium sativum providing the groundwork for upcoming pharmacological research, the goal of recording the usage of medicinal plants in the treatment of illnesses was to capture customary behaviours. Laggera tomentosa and Urtica simensis conservation must be given top priority in order to protect biodiversity and the customs connected to these threatened species. A sustainable and affordable alternative is to involve local populations in the management and conservation of plant resources while also preserving their traditional knowledge. Because of their bioactive ingredients, these plants have been utilized in traditional medical systems by many different civilizations worldwide. It is now known that certain substances originating from plants, known as phytochemicals, can have positive therapeutic effects on the human body, aiding in the prevention and treatment of a number of illnesses. In Ethiopia, traditional medicine is often used in conjunction with contemporary medical systems. For the treatment of a variety of illnesses, the Ethiopian populace mostly uses herbal treatments made from local plants. Oral knowledge sharing among community members helps to perpetuate these practices throughout generations. Ethiopia has a wide variety of medicinal plant applications due to its ethnic diversity, which is reflected in its various languages and cultures. The literature emphasizes how important medicinal plants are to Ethiopia's basic healthcare system. Interestingly, a sizable section of the population roughly 80% of people and 90% of animals rely on conventional medicine to meet their medical needs. To create extensive databases of therapeutic plants, researchers employ techniques including botanical identification, community surveys and interviews with traditional healers. This documentation is important for future pharmacological research, which could lead to new medicinal discoveries, as well as for the preservation of traditional knowledge.

Traditional medicinal pants

Medicinal plant biodiversity is seriously threatened by the increasing strain that urbanization and agricultural growth are placing on natural environments. Conservation efforts are vital to ensuring that these priceless resources are preserved for future generations. Despite the wealth of ethnobotany, problems including climate change, habitat loss and socioeconomic concerns threaten the supply of medicinal plants as well as the transmission of traditional knowledge. Policies that promote conservation initiatives as well as the incorporation of traditional medicine into national healthcare systems are desperately needed. This includes ranking medicinal plants according to their potential for healing, threats to the plant resource base and the current conservation status of these plants, as well as comparing remedial plant knowledge across various social groups. For the country's traditional medical knowledge to be documented, further ethnobotanical research is necessary. Thus, the goal of the current study is to document traditional medical knowledge and create an exhaustive list of medicinal plants used in the tehuledere district to treat illnesses that affect both people and animals.