Ethno-Medicinal Uses of Various Plants Species among the Jaad Bhotiya Community of Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya

Abstract

The Jaad Bhotiya tribal community of Bhagirathi valley is known for their transhumance practices in Uttarakhand. The present paper is the result of a preliminary investigation, which was conducted to understand the traditional healthcare practices and use of plant species in various remedies by the Jaad people. A total 39 plant species are documented to be used in traditional medicine which revealed that the indigenous knowledge system still serves effectively for the well-being of the Jaad community. However, the knowledge was limited to older generation while the younger ones remain deprived of such knowledge. It was also found that various medicinal plants species are less abundant than earlier in the region which is believed due to the ever-increasing anthropogenic drivers and impacts of climate change. The current utilization pattern and limited transfer of knowledge are disparaging to the sustainability of plant resource in the region and indigenous system for human well-being. *Address for correspondence: E-mail: kusumdoon@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Traditional Knowledge System (TKS) is unique among the indigenous communities across the globe. Use of flora and fauna in traditional medicine has been much fascinating among all these knowledge systems, as are distinct in different ethnic communities (Uniyal and Shiva 2005). As per the World Health Organization (WHO 2002), about eighty percent of the world population depends on indigenous medicine. The population in rural and remote hilly terrains are more dependent than others on traditional medicine systems especially based on plant resources (Dhar et al. 2002), used for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various physical and mental ailments. However, these practices are much prevalent among tribal communities, especially in India where over 53 million tribal people belong to about 550 communities of 227 ethnic groups (Nautiyal et al. 2000; Phondani et al. 2009). The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is inhabited by more than 175 schedule tribes with about 18.5 percent of the total tribal population of India (Negi and Kandari 2017). The tribal communities of Uttarakhand such as Bhotiya, Jaunsari, Tharu, Raji, Buxas, and others, having unique socio-cultural heritage, languages, and TKS of life and livelihood, play an important role in their survival (Samal and Dhyani 2010; Negi and Kandari 2017; Nautiyal 2017). These communities largely depend on forests and other natural resources based TKS for their sustenance including food, fodder, medicine and other livelihood options (Maikhuri et al. 2000; Kala 2005; Bhatt et al. 2013). However, traditional healthcare practices based on plant and animal resources have enriched their indigenous identity. Over the time, inadequate documentation of indigenous knowledge system and limited transfer or handing it over to the younger generations has drawn the attention of scientist and policymakers toward its preservation (Samal and Dhyani 2010). Thus, documentation of ethnobotanical and ethno-zoological knowledge on medicinal plants is utmost important to preserve the ancient knowledge system (Kala 2005; Sharma and Lal 2005; Rana and Samant 2011; Bhatt et al. 2013; Negi and Kandari 2017) and to initiate the conservation and management planning for these valuable biological resources (Dhar et al. 2002; Muthu et al. 2006) The present study was conducted on the Jaad Bhotiya tribe of Uttarkashi district, known for their transhumance practices between Terai, Shivalik and higher Himalaya of Uttarakhand state. The Jaad community holds a diverse wealth of knowledge especially on the use of locally available plant species, however, poorly documented in comparison to the other tribes of UtEthno Med, 12(3): 189-197 (2018) DOI: 10.31901/24566772.2018/12.03.558 2018 © Kamla-Raj 2018 190 KHIMA NAND BALODI, MONIKA VATS PUROHIT, VIJAY SHRIDHAR AND KUSUM ARUNACHALAM tarakhand Himalaya. This paper is a contribution to available knowledge on TKS of tribal communities of Uttarakhand and information to conserve plant resources of ethno-medicinal significance in the Indian Himalayan Region.