INDIGENOUS USES OF THREATENED ETHNO-MEDICINAL PLANTS USED TO CURE DIFFERENT DISEASES BY ETHNIC PEOPLE OF ALMORA DISTRICT OF WESTERN HIMALAYA

The plants have been used as a source of medicines by man from ancient times to the present day. Initially these were the main parts of folk or ethno medicine practiced in India and other parts of the world like China, Middle East Africa and South America. Later a considerable part of this indigenous knowledge was formulated, documented and eventually passed into the organized systems of medicines such as Ayurveda, Yunani, Siddha or other systems. A large number of medicinal plants of great commercial value grow spontaneously in the study area. The present study is based on a field survey of the district of Almora, to find out the plants of medicinal values. The researcher investigates “The peoples of study area specified like to use ethno-medicine or not in their cases of ailments?” Researcher also wanted to authenticate hypothesis “There is differences of sex in the belief/ use of ethno –medicine in their diseases?” The present study deals with the indigenous uses of  Taxus baccata Linn., Thalictrum foliolosum DC., Berberis aristataDC., Baliospermum montanum Will., Thymus serpyllum Linn., Coleus forskohli Will., Bergenia ciliata(Haworth) Sternb., Clerodendrum serratum Linn., Oroxylum indicum Linn., Valeriana hardwickii Wall.Valeriana jatamansii Jones., Celastrus paniculatus Will., Malaxis acuminata D. Don, Habenaria intermedia D. Don., Habenaria edgeworthii Hook. f. ex .Collett., Costus speciosus (Koenig ex Retz.) Smith,Dioscorea deltoidea Wall., Curculigo orchioides Gaerth, Gloriosa superba Linn., Polygonatum cirrhifoliumWall. Royl., Polygonatum verticillatum Linn. Total fifty-two different diseases have been cured by the reported species. Out of fifty-two diseases, twenty-eight diseases (54%) cured by single plants, nine diseases cured by two (17%) species, seven diseases cured by three (14%), seven diseases cured by four (13%) species and one diseases cured by six (2%) species.
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http://interscience.org.uk/index.php/ijahm/article/view/270/245

Source:Priti kumari, Girish C Joshi