Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by tribal people Wadegaon and Ghot villages of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra state

Abstract

Gadchiroli district is located at the north-eastern side of the state of Maharashtra and has moderate tribal concentration i.e. between 25-50% of the district's total population, the main tribes being Gond and Kawar. These people are highly dependent on medicinal plants as a remedy for their medical illnesses. Identification of medicinal plants used by indigenous inhabitants for various ailments is key to understand their properties. Most of the useful information in this regard is available with traditional healers. Hence the current project was undertaken with an aim to preserve and protect the traditional knowledge and also to prepare a database of traditional medicine. Information regarding the medicinal uses of plants was collected through face-to-face interviews with the healers, called locally as “Baida”. During the interviews, local names utilized parts, and information on the types of ailments treated using traditional medicinal plant species were recorded and are presented here. Forty-five different plants belonging to 29 families were reported to be used by tribal people of the studied area for different medicinal uses. Plants were used for different common ailments like gastrointestinal problems, fever, cough, skin diseases, menstrual problems, insect bites, urinary problems, weakness, etc.

Keywords: Ethnobotany, Gadchiroli, Medicinal plants, tribal medicine