Ethnomedicinal survey of Bhalessa, Jammu and Kashmir, a remote region of Western Himalaya

Ethnopharmacological relevance

The traditional knowledge about ethnomedicinal plants has a significant impact on human healthcare. However, across the globe especially in remote areas, this treasure-trove of traditional knowledge is being rapidly lost. Therefore, it is important to scientifically document and validate the folklore claims about medicinal plants, which will contribute to their bioprospection and sustainable use.

Aims of the study

The study was conducted to elucidate the traditional knowledge and practices about the usage of medicinal plants by the tribal population inhabiting Bhalessa, a remote area in district Doda, Jammu, and Kashmir, Western Himalaya.

Material and methods

We collected ethnomedicinal data through focused interviews of the local population in the study area by employing in situ and ex-situ survey methods. The collected data was subjected to statistical tools of informant consensus factor (ICF), use reports and comparison with previous studies.

Results

We report a total of 80 medicinal plant species traditionally used against 17 disease categories in the area. The most frequently used plant parts were roots and leaves and the route of administration of the medicines was largely oral in the powdered form. The ICF values were indicative of a higher agreement among the users about the usage of plants in the treatment of disease categoriesmusculoskeletal and connective tissue, genitourinary and gastrointestinal disease categories. Based on the number of use report and number of taxa utilized, the most prevalent disease in the study area were joint pain and fever.

Conclusion

Novel information has been generated as the elderly people of Bhalessa possess precious knowledge of medicinal plants. These novel folklore claims about the various therapeutic values of medicinal plants require scientifically sound validation. Therefore, we call for focused phytochemical research and proper pharmacological validations of the reported medicinal uses in the study area, particularly of the Himalayan endemic species such as Aconitum lethale, Arisaema jacquemontii, and Saussurea costus.