An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by traditional Healers of Perkapally, Karimnagar district, Telangana, India

Abstract

Ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to record information on medicinal plants from traditional healers in Perkapally, Karimnagar District, Telangana. The objective of this study to identify the medicinal plants used for treating different diseases. A total of 38 species of ethno medicinal plants belonging to 39 genera and 25 families were reported with the help of standardized questionnaires among three tribal informants between ages of 32-60. The focus was on plants used for infectious conditions and information regarding vernacular plant names, plant parts used, preparation (independently and in various combinations) and application was collected. A total of three lay people, were interviewed on their knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat various diseases like diarrhoea, coughing, diabetes, skin rashes and paralysis, mental disorders. The most plant parts used were leaves (42%), followed by fruits (23%), seeds (18%), bark (18%), flowers (2%), stem (2%) and roots (10%). Highest percentage of leaves are used in preparation. The youth should be encouraged to learn the traditional medicinal knowledge to preserve it from being lost with the older generation. This could be useful in novel drug discovery and to validate the ethomedicinal knowledge. Keywords: Diseases, Karimnagar, Traditional healers, Telangana, Ethnobotanical.