Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeastern India
Paper Details
Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeastern India
Abstract
Tribes living in the Northeastern part of India rely on different plants as their source of medicines for different ailments from ancient times. This study documents the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used by the indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire in consultation with the tribal practitioners. The study documents 54 medicinal plants belonging to 32 families used by eight different tribes. Among these people of the Monpa tribe uses Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent., to treat diarrhea and stomach ache, Singpho uses Amaranthus spinosus (L.) for skin infection, Cannabis sativa (L.) and Emblica officinalis both are used by Apatani and Adi tribes to cure hepatic problems. Both Idu and Tagin tribe uses Piper nigrum (L.) and Piper mullesua Ham ex D. Don to cure respiratory diseases. The plant Ageratum conyzoides (L.) is widespread among the native tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, and it is used to stop the bleeding among Singpho, Tangsa, Idu, and Nyishi tribes. There was a significant agreement among the informants regarding ethnomedicinal uses of plants, with Factor of Informants Consensus (FIC) value ranging from 0.2 to 0.48, with an average value of 0.355. This study underlines the importance of traditional medicinal knowledge that is fading in the era of urbanization and suggests documentation to preserve the knowledge.
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