Traditional Phytotherapy of Jajpur Forests of Eastern Ghat, Odisha
Usha Devi, Himanshu Dwivedi, Aminuddin, Mohammad Zakir and Hakimudin Khan
Hippocratic Journal of Unani Medicine
Hippocratic Journal of Unani Medicine January - March 2016, Vol. 11 No. 1, Pages 101-120
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological surveys conducted in Jajpur forests of Odisha during 2014 and 2015 have resulted into collection of first-hand data on 68 folk medicinal species belonging to 60 genera and 40 families for treatment and cure of many diseases and conditions. The information on therapeutic uses of plants have been recorded through interviews of forest ethnics and traditional folk healers commonly known as “Vaidyas”. Each species enumerated has been provided with the information on plants’ scientific name, family, habitat, local name, locality with voucher specimen number, recipe and part(s) used in folk medicine, medical efficacy claimed, mode of administration, name of informant(s) and occurrence. Need for conservation and protection of such species under threat on account of their over-exploitation has been re-stressed. It’s likely that data presented will contribute significantly to discover new drugs of natural origin for many of the diseases having no satisfactory cure in modern medicine, thus far.