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An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh, India
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm
Ethnopharmacological communication
An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh, India Anurag Singh ∗ , P.K. Singh Department of Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi, UttarPradesh 221002, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 28 May 2008 Received in revised form 15 October 2008 Accepted 18 October 2008 Available online 30 October 2008 Keywords: Ethnobotany Medicinal plants Indigenous knowledge Conservation Chandauli
a b s t r a c t Aim of the study: Chandauli district is one of the less studied regions of India for its ethnobotanical values. The present paper synthesizes the first report related to the documentation and conservation of ethnomedicinal plants of Chandauli district and their socio-economic relationship with the forests and its resources. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations, preference and direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. Results: The use of 40 medicinal plants belonging to 27 families was documented in the tribal communities of Chandauli district in India. These species were used in combination of some exotic species such as Foeniculum vulgare, Prosopis spicigera, Crataeva nurvala, Curcuma longa, Punica granatum, Aloe vera, Cocos nucifera, Ocimum sanctum and Allium cepa and some medicinal stones, minerals, salts, etc. Most of the plants (94.6%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. Conclusions: Documenting the eroding plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area. The principal threatening factors reported were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%) and overgrazing (53%). © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction India is known for its rich vegetation and plant biodiversity, due to its geographical and climatic conditions in which Chandauli district is characterized for Chandraprabha national sanctuary (protected area) and Naugarh forest due to its great biodiversity. Plants have always had an important role to play in the development of medicine and public health. The traditional systems of the medicine like Chinese, Ayurvedic, Unani and Biomedicine are very effective particularly in rural areas for the treatment of various aliments. Inspite of the advent of the modern medicines, tribal population are still practicing the art of herbal medicine. Near about 80% of the total human populations still depends upon traditional remedies together with folklore system based mainly on phytotherapy (Azaizeh et al., 2003). The knowledge of the use of medicinal plants and their properties was transmitted from generation to generation (Lev and Amar, 2000). But this knowledge and transmission is in danger because transmission between older and younger generation is not always assured (Anyinam, 1995). Ethnobotany is a very important area of study and
acknowledgeable all over the world. This science showed healthy relationship between humans and nature and provides possibility of finding new uses for medicinal plants and can be used to discover new medicines derived from plants (Heinrich, 2000). Chandauli district is one of the less studied regions of India for its ethnobotanical values and therapeutic importance. Present paper includes the information gathered from traditional healers among the several tribes such as Kharwas, Polekero, Kevat, Dhobhi, etc. Because of the specific geographical features of Chandauli district and the lack of the government health facilities in the district, the people are largely dependent on the indigenous health care system. Local herbs and other plant resources found in that area are the principle source of medicine for the treatment of various diseases. This manuscript reports the first ethnobotanical work regarding traditional system of medicine and their pharmaceutical importance in the Chandauli district. In order to record all the medicinal knowledge, new or rare uses of medicinal plants in the region, the ethnobotanical survey of Chandauli district was undertaken. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study area
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9889674994. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Singh). 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2008.10.018
Chandauli district lies at latitudes 81◦ 14 E to 84◦ 24 E and longitude 24◦ 56 N to 25◦ 35 N at an altitude of approximately 78.9 m
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
325
Fig. 1. Location map of study area (Naugarh) in Chandauli District, Uttar Pradesh, India.
above the sea level. Extensive survey was carried out from February 2007 to January 2008 in the tribal villages of Naugarh block, which include Surya, Samserpur, Tarwa, Jamerbad, Chupepur and Vijaydih (Fig. 1). Chandauli district has a humid subtropical climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers are long, from early April till October and winter from December to February. The average temperature is 32–46 ◦ C in summer and 5–15 ◦ C in winter. 2.2. Methods Informations were collected through interviews with 54 persons aged between 45 and 70, who had the traditional knowledge
of plants. The methods used for ethnobotanical data collection were semi-structured interviews as described by Cotton (1996) field observation, preference ranking and direct-matrix ranking according to Alexiades (1996). The respondents background of our questionnaire based upon health problems treated, diagnosis and treatment methods, local name of medicinal plants, plant parts used, methods of preparation and application, threats to medicinal plants and conservation practices, were carefully recorded. The medicinal plants were identified (local name), photographed and sample specimens were collected for the preparation of herbarium. The identified plant specimens were then confirmed with the herbaria of Botanical survey of India (BSI).
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Table 1 Ethnomedicinal plants, local name, mode of preparation and uses in Chandauli district, India. Botanical name (Voucher specimen code)
Family
Local name
Parts used, mode of preparation, ethnomedicinal uses and some other plants used as ingredients
Major chemical constituents
Abrus precatorius L. (AS1)
Fabaceae
Ghumchi
Achyranthes aspera L. (AS2)
Amaranthaceae
Latjeera
Abrine (N-methyl-l-tryptophan), glycyrrhizin and lipolytic enzyme Saponin A, saponin B and achyranthine
Aloe barbadensis Mill. (AS3)
Liliaceae
Ghritkumari
The paste prepared from 10 g of root with water is applied externally two times a day for a period of 1 week to treat dandruff The root of the plant is used by some people for easy delivery. It is also used with Shami (Prosopis spicigera Linn.) root to cure jaundice given with butter Leaf extract (5 ml) taken with molasses thrice a day to cure leucorrhea
Allium sativaum L. (AS4)
Liliaceae
Lahsun
Anogeisus latifolia (Roxb.ex DC.) Wallich ex Guill. & Perr. (AS5) Artemisia sieversiana Ehrh. ex Willd. (AS6) Asparagus racemosus Willd. (AS7)
Combretaceae Asteraceae
Dauna
The mixture of leaves and flower are used in fever and hysteria
Artimisetin and sanotonin
Liliaceae
Shatavar
Bauhinia variegata L. (AS8)
Fabaceae
Kachnar
Chlorophytum borivillianum Sant. (AS9)
Liliaceae
Safed musali
Quercetin-3-glucoromide, diosgenin, d-glucoside and saponins A4-A7 Alanine aspartic acid, glycine, serine, oxaloacetic acid and palmitic acid Saponins and alkaloids
Cissus quadrangularis L. (AS10)
Vitaceae
Hadjod
The root powder (20 g) is taken orally with 150 ml of goat’s milk three times a day to treat leucorrhoea The flower used with sugar as gentle laxative. The root decoction is given in dyspepsia Roots are used for the preparation of nutritive tonic used in general sexual weekness A paste of the whole plant is applied on bone factures
Cleome viscosa L. (AS11)
Caesalpiniaceae
Hurhur
Crataeva magna (Lour.) DC. (AS12) Convolvulus pluricaulis Chois. (AS13)
Capparidaceae Convolvulaceae
Varun Shankhpuspi
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (AS14)
Amaryllidaceae
Kali musli
Cyperus rotundus L. (AS15)
Cyperaceae
Motha
Datura innoxia Mill. (AS16)
Solanaceae
Dhatura
Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. (AS17)
Fabaceae
Shalparni
Diospyros malabarica (Ders.) Kostel (AS18)
Ebenaceae
Tendu
Dioscorea bulbifera L. (AS19)
Dioscoreaceae
Piska
Boiled root tubers are taken orally to reduce body heat
Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C. Jeffrey (AS20) Eclipta alba (L). Hassk. (AS21)
Cucurbitaceae
Shivlingi
Asteraceae
Bhangraiya
Hemidesmus indicus(L.) R.Br. Var. Indicus. (AS22)
Asclapidaceae
Anantmool
Ipomoea carnea Jacq. ssp. Fistulosa Mart. ex Choisy. (AS23) Justicia adhatoda Nees. (AS24)
Convolvulaceae
Ipoma
Acanthaceae
Adusa
Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia (Roxb.) Chevalier. (AS25)
Sapotaceae
Mahuwa
50 ml of leaf juice is given for 3 days for fever. Root and seed powder is used in paralysis of tongue Leaves along with the seeds of Foeniculum vulgare are boiled in coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) and the oil extract is applied on the head daily in the morning hours for a week to treat dandruff Handful of the dried roots are pounded and boiled in 100 ml of coconut oil. Few drops of the oil extract are externally applied twice a day to treat eczema, scabies and the ringworm infection Powder of stem, leaf, flower and root is taken along with the leaves of Aloe vera to induce conception 10 g of the fresh leaves made into a paste is externally applied twice a day for a week to treat scabies and the ringworm infection The seed oil is used for cooking food. Its flower is widely used for making local liquor and leaves are used in headache
The dried seed powder is mixed with sugar and administered orally twice a day for 7 days to relieve body pain The paste of the bark is used in the disease of chest Ash of the whole plant is used locally in skin diseases
The dried rhizome powder is mixed with honey and given to males to improve semen production The whole plant along with young leaves of neem, black pepper and leaves of tulasi is made into decoction. The decoction vapour is inhaled for treating malarial fever The leaves are gently heated on flame and applied on the face once in a day for a week to treat pimples Paste of leaf is applied externally along with the leaves of Aloe vera to prevent falling of hair 15–20 g of bark is crushed with 1 cup of curd and given twice a day for 3 days for dysentery
Tetracyclic triterpenoids, ␣-sitosterol and -sitosterol 7-Phenoxycoumarin, lactone and cleomeolide Lupeol, ruttin, verunol and lupenone Tropane, pseudotropine, tropinone, polyhydroxytropanes, tropinone, pyrrolidine Orchioside A, orchioside B, curculigoside, syringic acid and orcinol Terpenes, olealonic acid, -sitisterol and essential oil Hyoscyamine, scopalamine, apohyoscyamine, allantoin and vitamin C Phenethylamine, salsolidine, hordenine and choline Ceryl alcohol, lupeol, betulin, -sitisterol, diospyric acid and carboxylic acid Diosgenin, antitumor-promoting effect, flavonoid and glycoside Bryonin Ecliptine, nicotine and hentriacontanol
Coumarin, hemidesmine, emidine, hemidesine and rutin Indole compound, iposcurines, alkaloid iposcurine-c, etc. Vasicine, -sitosterol, vasicoline, and adhotodine Vitamin A and C, ethyl cinnamate, histidine, glutamic acid and arbinose
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
Dhaura
Paste of the bulb (50 g) is given orally a twice a day for carminative and gastric stimulant of sheep and goat Bark is used by some people in Scorpion string
Aloesin, isoaloeresin D, aloe-emodin, 10 hydroxylation A Allicin, diallyl disulphide, polysulphides, ajoene Gallotanin, -sitosterol, quercetin
Euphorbiaceae
Rohini
Decoction of stem bark is used in abdominal pain. Leaves are used in skin diseases
Mimosa pudica L. (AS27)
Mimosaceae
Lajwanti
Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. (AS28)
Apocynaceae
Sarpgandha
Tamarindus indica L. (AS29)
Fabaceae
Imli
Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook f. (AS30) Tribulus terrestris L. (AS31)
Menispermaceae
Gudchi
Zygophyllaceae
Gokhru
Semecarpus anacardium L. (AS32)
Anacardiaceae
Bhilawa
Senna occidentalis (L.) Link. (AS33)
Caesalpiniaceae
Kasmard
10 g of the leaf paste is externally applied thrice a day to treat eczema. A handful of the entire plant made into a paste is applied on cuts and wounds for healing Its decoction is given during labour pain to increase uterine contraction. The juice of the leaves is used as a remedy for the removal of opacities of the cornea Its leaves are used along with Haldi (Curcuma longa Linn.) and Allium cepa on injury Stem (1 kg) is boiled in 1 l of water. The decoction (one cup) is taken during delivery pain to induce smooth delivery The juice prepared from 10 g of fruits with 200 ml of goat’s milk is taken orally two times a day for a period of 3 days to treat leucorrhoea A fruit ground with curd is applied on bald patches of the scalp to regain hair. The root decoction of the young plant is also used to cure impotency Leaf paste is applied locally in bone fracture of cattles
Sida rhombifolia L. (AS34)
Malvaceae
Bariyara
Smilax perfoliata Lour. (AS35)
Liliaceae
Ramdatun
Solanum nigrum L. (AS36)
Solanaceae
Makoy
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. (AS37)
Solanaceae
Aswagandha
Vernonia cinerea Less. (AS38)
Asteraceae
Sahdevi
Vetiveria zizanoides (Linn.) Nash. (AS39)
Poaceae
Khas
Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight. & Arn. (AS40)
Rhamnaceae
Kathber
Along with other ingredients mix to prepare special sweet preparation “Sethaura” for lactating mothers to provide strength and vigour The juice of the fresh root is taken for the cure of rheumatic pains and chronic skin diseases The paste of leaves are used for rheumatism and skin diseases with Aloe vera It is used for the aphrodisiacs, diuretics and for treating memory loss. Also used as a skin ointment and for promoting reproductive fertility Powder from the whole plant along with the leaves of Crataeva nurvala and Punica granatum is heated with castor and coconut oils and applied externally on breast to cure tumor The dried plant root is powdered and mixed with water to make a paste. This paste is applied on the fore head to relieve headache The fruits are used to relieve constipation, headache, cold and colic pain, treatment of measles, chicken pox, small pox and typhoid
Flavones, chalcones-mallotus AB, tannin, cardenolides, tannic acid, gum and volatile oil Mimosine, tetrahydroxyl, flavone, tannin and calcium oxalate Serpentine, resperpine, oleoresin and serposterol Mallic acid, tartaric acid, potassium bitartrate, flavone-G and amino acid Tinosporin, furanoid, diterpene and berberine Kaempferol, diosgenin, chlorogenin, hecogenin and ruscogenin Palmitic acid, stearic acid, myristic, linoleic and oleic acid Anthraquinone, oxyanthraquinone, tannin and rhein Ephedrine, cellulose and lignin Tannin, resin, cinchonin, saponin, flavonoid and glycosides Riboflavin, nicotinic acid and vitamin-C Withanolides, sominolide, sominohe, mindabeolide, and withanolide-R -Sitosterol, triterpenoids, sterol, fatty acids, -amyrin, etc. Sesquiterpene, ketone, acids and esters Cyclopeptid alkaloid, peptide alkaloids F, G and H and benzyl-iso-quinoline alkaloid coclaurine
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
Mallotus philippinensis (Lam.) Muell.-Arg. (AS26)
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A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
Table 2 Ranking of medicinal plants reported as threatened in the study site of Chandauli district. Key informants coded A–N
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. Dioscorea bulbifera L. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
2 4 3 5
1 3 4 6
4 5 1 3
3 4 5 7
1 2 1 4
1 5 4 2
7 1 3 4
5 2 2 3
2 3 4 5
3 3
4 4 4 7
1 2 5 2
2 6 6 4
4 3 2 3
The status of all the medicinal plants was recorded as abundant, less abundant, rare or very rare as per healers’ perception during the semi-structured interviews. To determine the most threatened medicinal plants (four species) in the study area, authors short listed all medicinal plant species reported by traditional healers as very rare in the area and conducted preference ranking of these species using 14 randomly selected informants. 2.3. Data analyses Ethnobotanical data were analysed and summarized by using Microsoft excel and statistics to determine frequencies of citations so as to identify the most common ailments in the study area, popularly used medicinal plant species and multipurpose plant species, to determine proportions of different variables like plant families, growth forms, source of collection, degree of scarcity, plant part used, methods of preparation and threatening factors. 3. Results In this paper, I focused mainly on plant species reported by the tribal practitioners in and around the study area for their medicinal uses. Presented data are the general results of the ethnoboanical survey conducted from June 2007 to May 2008. Recorded plant species with their vernacular names, uses and mode of preparation are listed in Table 1. The tribal people of Chandauli district were using 40 species of plants belonging to 27 families. Among them 11 were herbs, 15 were shrubs, 8 were trees and 6 were climbers. The most commonly represented families were Liliaceae (5), Fabaceae (4) and Solanaceae (3). The results of growth form analysis of medicinal plants showed that shrubs made up the highest proportion being represented with 15 species (37.50%), followed by herbs (11 species, 27.50%), trees (8 species, 20.00%), climbers (6 species, 15.00%). This finding is contrary to the general pattern seen in most medicinal inventories (for example, Giday et al., 2003; Giday et al., 2007) where herbaceous medicinal plants dominate. Of the 40 medicinal plants studied, 33 species (82.48%) were collected from the wild while 4 species (10.00%) were found in cultivation and 3 species (7.50%) were obtained both from cultivation and the wild. This indicates that the practitioners depend on the wild source or the natural environment rather than home gardens to obtain the medicinal plants, and the activity of cultivating medicinal plants is very poor in the study area. It also indicates that the natural forest of Chandauli district is being over exploited by traditional practitioners for its medicinal plants composition. The plant parts used widely to treat human and livestock health problems include root, stem, leaves and others. The most commonly used plant parts for herbal preparations in the area were roots (33.91%) and leaves (25.65%). Such wide harvesting of roots, which are important for survival of plants has a negative influence on the survival and continuity of useful medicinal plants and hence affects sustainable utilization of the plants. Large proportion of herbal prescription from root sources was also reported by Addis et al. (2001) in their ethnobotanical investigations.
6
Total score
Rank
40 47 44 61
4 2 3 1
4. Discussion and conclusion The medicinal plants have various methods of preparation and application for different types of ailments and they have various preparation forms like concoction, decoction, powder, and crushed and homogenized in water. The preparation and application methods vary based on the type of disease treated and the actual site of the ailment. The medicinal plant preparations were applied through different routes of administration like oral, topical or dermal, and nasal routes. However, oral application (57.50%) was the highest and most commonly used route of application followed by topical (37.50%) or nasal and others application (5.00%). 4.1. Disease types, treatment methods and herbal preparations used to treat human health problems Though more than 22 different disease types were recorded as human health problems in the district. The most reported medicinal uses were for digestive, skin wound, circulatory, respiratory troubles, kidney, nervous and mouth problems. The presence of such a large number of medicinal plant species indicates that the area has a very high diversity of medicinal plant species and is a site for various indigenous knowledge. Medicines were prepared in the form of powder, decoction, paste and juice. It was also observed that some plants were used in more than one form of preparation. Several plants were used in the form of powder: examples are root powder of Semecarpus anacardium L. worm and applied on wound and cut, the dried seed powder of Cleome viscosa L. is mixed with sugar and administered orally twice a day for 7 days to relieve body pain. Herbal medicines prescribed by tribal healers are either preparation based on single plant part or a combination of several plant parts. They believe that combination of several plant parts cures diseases rapidly. Root paste of Mimosa pudica Linn. mixed with castor oil for treating measles. Leaf paste of Mimosa pudica Linn. is mixed with turmeric powder to treat insect bite. Root and leaves are used in piles. Small pieces of root of Hemidesmus indicus B. are baked in goat milk and used against sciatica. Generally, fresh part of the plant is used for the preparation of medicine. When fresh plant parts are unavailable, dried parts are also used. 4.2. Ranking of threatened medicinal plants Based on the degree of threat and rarity, ranking of four different medicinal plants that were recorded for rarity, was conducted after selecting 14 key informants in the study area. The results showed that Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. got the highest score indicating that it is the most threatened plant followed by Rauvolfia serpentina L. and Dioscorea bulbifera L. On the other hand Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. scored the least indicating that it was less threatened when compared to the other species (Table 2).
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
4.3. Threats to medicinal plants and conservation practices In Chandauli District various factors that were considered as main threats for medicinal plants were recorded by interviewing the informants. The major factors claimed were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%), overgrazing (53%), fire (15%), drought (12%) and trading charcoal and firewood (10%). The effort to conserve medicinal plants in the district was observed to be very poor. Some traditional practitioners have started to conserve medicinal plants by cultivating at home gardens, though the effort was minimal. About 5.7%, of the medicinal plants collected were reported as found cultivated at home gardens and these include plants like Aloe barbadensis Mill. Allium sativaum L. Achyranthes aspera L. and Mimosa pudica Linn. With changes in the environment and life conditions it is common that in most of the ethnobotanical works informants believe that more medicinal plants were in use in past than now (Giday et al., 2003) and this work is no exception in this regard. This is as a result of the modern care system expansion and using synthesized medicines. Also the continued environmental degradation of medicinal plant habitats has brought the depletion of medicinal plants and the associated knowledge. Knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing because most of the people with medicinal plant knowledge are passed away without properly passing their knowledge to the next generations. Today there are few professional healers in the area, which regularly serve the community. Most of the knowledge of medicinal plants is owned by elders, who use the plants for their own families. They have fear to use their knowledge for the other families because the modern medical care system has banned them from using these practices. Due to the lack of the government health facilities in the district, the people are largely dependent on the traditional health care system. Traditional beliefs in the area also have their own unintentional role in conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. Hence, efforts must be taken to protect these species in this area by involving the local communities in preservation and conservation aspects (Hedberg, 1993). From this account it is clear that the information gathered from the tribes of Chandauli district is useful for further research in the field of ethnobotany, taxonomy and pharmacology. This study offers a model for studying the relationship between plants and people.
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Due to lack of interest among the younger generation of tribes as well as their tendency to migrate to cities for lucrative jobs, we face the possibility of losing this wealth of knowledge in the area of Chandauli district near future. It thus becomes necessary to acquire and preserve this traditional system of medicine by proper documentation and identification of specimens. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Dr. Gopal Krishna, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata for their nice help and corporation during identification of plants. The authors want to express their sincere gratitude to Dr. A.K. Singh, Head, Department of Botany, U.P. College, Varanasi. The author also thankful to the people of Chandauli district for sharing their ethnobotanical knowledge.This study was made with the help of Mr. Anjani Singh, Mrs. Rekha Singh and Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, without their contribution this work would have been impossible to make, to whom we wish to thank. References Addis, G., Abebe, D., Urga, K., 2001. A survey of traditional medicinal plants in Shirka District, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal 19, 30–47. Alexiades, M., 1996. Collecting ethnobotanical data: an introduction to basic concepts and techniques. In: Alexiades, M., Sheldon, J.W. (Eds.), Selected Guideline for Ethnobotanical Research: A Field Manual. The New York Botanical Garden, USA, pp. 53–94. Anyinam, C., 1995. Ecology and ethnomedicine: exploring links between current environmental crisis and indigenous medical practices. Social Science and Medicine 4, 321–329. Azaizeh, H., Fulder, S., Khalil, K., Said, O., 2003. Ethnomedicinal knowledge of local Arab practitioners in the Middle East Region. Fitoterapia 74, 98–108. Cotton, C.M., 1996. Ethnobotany: Principles and Applications. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, NY. Giday, M., Afsfaw, Z., Elmqvist, T., Woldu, Z., 2003. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Zay people in Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 85, 43–52. Giday, M., Teklehaymanot, T., Animut, A., Mekonnen, Y., 2007. Medicinal plants of the Shinasha, Agew-awi and Amhara peoples in Northwest Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 110, 516–525. Hedberg, I., 1993. Botanical methods in ethnoprarmacology and the need for conservation of medicinal plant. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 38, 121–128. Heinrich, M., 2000. Ethnobotany and its role in drug development. Phytotherapy Research 14, 479–488. Lev, E., Amar, Z., 2000. Ethnopharamcological survey of traditional drugs sold in Israel at the end of 20th century. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 72, 191–205.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm
Ethnopharmacological communication
An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh, India Anurag Singh ∗ , P.K. Singh Department of Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi, UttarPradesh 221002, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 28 May 2008 Received in revised form 15 October 2008 Accepted 18 October 2008 Available online 30 October 2008 Keywords: Ethnobotany Medicinal plants Indigenous knowledge Conservation Chandauli
a b s t r a c t Aim of the study: Chandauli district is one of the less studied regions of India for its ethnobotanical values. The present paper synthesizes the first report related to the documentation and conservation of ethnomedicinal plants of Chandauli district and their socio-economic relationship with the forests and its resources. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews, field observations, preference and direct matrix ranking with traditional medicine practitioners. Results: The use of 40 medicinal plants belonging to 27 families was documented in the tribal communities of Chandauli district in India. These species were used in combination of some exotic species such as Foeniculum vulgare, Prosopis spicigera, Crataeva nurvala, Curcuma longa, Punica granatum, Aloe vera, Cocos nucifera, Ocimum sanctum and Allium cepa and some medicinal stones, minerals, salts, etc. Most of the plants (94.6%) were reportedly used to treat human diseases. Conclusions: Documenting the eroding plants and associated indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for developing management plans for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area. The principal threatening factors reported were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%) and overgrazing (53%). © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction India is known for its rich vegetation and plant biodiversity, due to its geographical and climatic conditions in which Chandauli district is characterized for Chandraprabha national sanctuary (protected area) and Naugarh forest due to its great biodiversity. Plants have always had an important role to play in the development of medicine and public health. The traditional systems of the medicine like Chinese, Ayurvedic, Unani and Biomedicine are very effective particularly in rural areas for the treatment of various aliments. Inspite of the advent of the modern medicines, tribal population are still practicing the art of herbal medicine. Near about 80% of the total human populations still depends upon traditional remedies together with folklore system based mainly on phytotherapy (Azaizeh et al., 2003). The knowledge of the use of medicinal plants and their properties was transmitted from generation to generation (Lev and Amar, 2000). But this knowledge and transmission is in danger because transmission between older and younger generation is not always assured (Anyinam, 1995). Ethnobotany is a very important area of study and
acknowledgeable all over the world. This science showed healthy relationship between humans and nature and provides possibility of finding new uses for medicinal plants and can be used to discover new medicines derived from plants (Heinrich, 2000). Chandauli district is one of the less studied regions of India for its ethnobotanical values and therapeutic importance. Present paper includes the information gathered from traditional healers among the several tribes such as Kharwas, Polekero, Kevat, Dhobhi, etc. Because of the specific geographical features of Chandauli district and the lack of the government health facilities in the district, the people are largely dependent on the indigenous health care system. Local herbs and other plant resources found in that area are the principle source of medicine for the treatment of various diseases. This manuscript reports the first ethnobotanical work regarding traditional system of medicine and their pharmaceutical importance in the Chandauli district. In order to record all the medicinal knowledge, new or rare uses of medicinal plants in the region, the ethnobotanical survey of Chandauli district was undertaken. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study area
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9889674994. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Singh). 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2008.10.018
Chandauli district lies at latitudes 81◦ 14 E to 84◦ 24 E and longitude 24◦ 56 N to 25◦ 35 N at an altitude of approximately 78.9 m
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
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Fig. 1. Location map of study area (Naugarh) in Chandauli District, Uttar Pradesh, India.
above the sea level. Extensive survey was carried out from February 2007 to January 2008 in the tribal villages of Naugarh block, which include Surya, Samserpur, Tarwa, Jamerbad, Chupepur and Vijaydih (Fig. 1). Chandauli district has a humid subtropical climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers are long, from early April till October and winter from December to February. The average temperature is 32–46 ◦ C in summer and 5–15 ◦ C in winter. 2.2. Methods Informations were collected through interviews with 54 persons aged between 45 and 70, who had the traditional knowledge
of plants. The methods used for ethnobotanical data collection were semi-structured interviews as described by Cotton (1996) field observation, preference ranking and direct-matrix ranking according to Alexiades (1996). The respondents background of our questionnaire based upon health problems treated, diagnosis and treatment methods, local name of medicinal plants, plant parts used, methods of preparation and application, threats to medicinal plants and conservation practices, were carefully recorded. The medicinal plants were identified (local name), photographed and sample specimens were collected for the preparation of herbarium. The identified plant specimens were then confirmed with the herbaria of Botanical survey of India (BSI).
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Table 1 Ethnomedicinal plants, local name, mode of preparation and uses in Chandauli district, India. Botanical name (Voucher specimen code)
Family
Local name
Parts used, mode of preparation, ethnomedicinal uses and some other plants used as ingredients
Major chemical constituents
Abrus precatorius L. (AS1)
Fabaceae
Ghumchi
Achyranthes aspera L. (AS2)
Amaranthaceae
Latjeera
Abrine (N-methyl-l-tryptophan), glycyrrhizin and lipolytic enzyme Saponin A, saponin B and achyranthine
Aloe barbadensis Mill. (AS3)
Liliaceae
Ghritkumari
The paste prepared from 10 g of root with water is applied externally two times a day for a period of 1 week to treat dandruff The root of the plant is used by some people for easy delivery. It is also used with Shami (Prosopis spicigera Linn.) root to cure jaundice given with butter Leaf extract (5 ml) taken with molasses thrice a day to cure leucorrhea
Allium sativaum L. (AS4)
Liliaceae
Lahsun
Anogeisus latifolia (Roxb.ex DC.) Wallich ex Guill. & Perr. (AS5) Artemisia sieversiana Ehrh. ex Willd. (AS6) Asparagus racemosus Willd. (AS7)
Combretaceae Asteraceae
Dauna
The mixture of leaves and flower are used in fever and hysteria
Artimisetin and sanotonin
Liliaceae
Shatavar
Bauhinia variegata L. (AS8)
Fabaceae
Kachnar
Chlorophytum borivillianum Sant. (AS9)
Liliaceae
Safed musali
Quercetin-3-glucoromide, diosgenin, d-glucoside and saponins A4-A7 Alanine aspartic acid, glycine, serine, oxaloacetic acid and palmitic acid Saponins and alkaloids
Cissus quadrangularis L. (AS10)
Vitaceae
Hadjod
The root powder (20 g) is taken orally with 150 ml of goat’s milk three times a day to treat leucorrhoea The flower used with sugar as gentle laxative. The root decoction is given in dyspepsia Roots are used for the preparation of nutritive tonic used in general sexual weekness A paste of the whole plant is applied on bone factures
Cleome viscosa L. (AS11)
Caesalpiniaceae
Hurhur
Crataeva magna (Lour.) DC. (AS12) Convolvulus pluricaulis Chois. (AS13)
Capparidaceae Convolvulaceae
Varun Shankhpuspi
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (AS14)
Amaryllidaceae
Kali musli
Cyperus rotundus L. (AS15)
Cyperaceae
Motha
Datura innoxia Mill. (AS16)
Solanaceae
Dhatura
Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. (AS17)
Fabaceae
Shalparni
Diospyros malabarica (Ders.) Kostel (AS18)
Ebenaceae
Tendu
Dioscorea bulbifera L. (AS19)
Dioscoreaceae
Piska
Boiled root tubers are taken orally to reduce body heat
Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C. Jeffrey (AS20) Eclipta alba (L). Hassk. (AS21)
Cucurbitaceae
Shivlingi
Asteraceae
Bhangraiya
Hemidesmus indicus(L.) R.Br. Var. Indicus. (AS22)
Asclapidaceae
Anantmool
Ipomoea carnea Jacq. ssp. Fistulosa Mart. ex Choisy. (AS23) Justicia adhatoda Nees. (AS24)
Convolvulaceae
Ipoma
Acanthaceae
Adusa
Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia (Roxb.) Chevalier. (AS25)
Sapotaceae
Mahuwa
50 ml of leaf juice is given for 3 days for fever. Root and seed powder is used in paralysis of tongue Leaves along with the seeds of Foeniculum vulgare are boiled in coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) and the oil extract is applied on the head daily in the morning hours for a week to treat dandruff Handful of the dried roots are pounded and boiled in 100 ml of coconut oil. Few drops of the oil extract are externally applied twice a day to treat eczema, scabies and the ringworm infection Powder of stem, leaf, flower and root is taken along with the leaves of Aloe vera to induce conception 10 g of the fresh leaves made into a paste is externally applied twice a day for a week to treat scabies and the ringworm infection The seed oil is used for cooking food. Its flower is widely used for making local liquor and leaves are used in headache
The dried seed powder is mixed with sugar and administered orally twice a day for 7 days to relieve body pain The paste of the bark is used in the disease of chest Ash of the whole plant is used locally in skin diseases
The dried rhizome powder is mixed with honey and given to males to improve semen production The whole plant along with young leaves of neem, black pepper and leaves of tulasi is made into decoction. The decoction vapour is inhaled for treating malarial fever The leaves are gently heated on flame and applied on the face once in a day for a week to treat pimples Paste of leaf is applied externally along with the leaves of Aloe vera to prevent falling of hair 15–20 g of bark is crushed with 1 cup of curd and given twice a day for 3 days for dysentery
Tetracyclic triterpenoids, ␣-sitosterol and -sitosterol 7-Phenoxycoumarin, lactone and cleomeolide Lupeol, ruttin, verunol and lupenone Tropane, pseudotropine, tropinone, polyhydroxytropanes, tropinone, pyrrolidine Orchioside A, orchioside B, curculigoside, syringic acid and orcinol Terpenes, olealonic acid, -sitisterol and essential oil Hyoscyamine, scopalamine, apohyoscyamine, allantoin and vitamin C Phenethylamine, salsolidine, hordenine and choline Ceryl alcohol, lupeol, betulin, -sitisterol, diospyric acid and carboxylic acid Diosgenin, antitumor-promoting effect, flavonoid and glycoside Bryonin Ecliptine, nicotine and hentriacontanol
Coumarin, hemidesmine, emidine, hemidesine and rutin Indole compound, iposcurines, alkaloid iposcurine-c, etc. Vasicine, -sitosterol, vasicoline, and adhotodine Vitamin A and C, ethyl cinnamate, histidine, glutamic acid and arbinose
A. Singh, P.K. Singh / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 121 (2009) 324–329
Dhaura
Paste of the bulb (50 g) is given orally a twice a day for carminative and gastric stimulant of sheep and goat Bark is used by some people in Scorpion string
Aloesin, isoaloeresin D, aloe-emodin, 10 hydroxylation A Allicin, diallyl disulphide, polysulphides, ajoene Gallotanin, -sitosterol, quercetin
Euphorbiaceae
Rohini
Decoction of stem bark is used in abdominal pain. Leaves are used in skin diseases
Mimosa pudica L. (AS27)
Mimosaceae
Lajwanti
Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. (AS28)
Apocynaceae
Sarpgandha
Tamarindus indica L. (AS29)
Fabaceae
Imli
Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook f. (AS30) Tribulus terrestris L. (AS31)
Menispermaceae
Gudchi
Zygophyllaceae
Gokhru
Semecarpus anacardium L. (AS32)
Anacardiaceae
Bhilawa
Senna occidentalis (L.) Link. (AS33)
Caesalpiniaceae
Kasmard
10 g of the leaf paste is externally applied thrice a day to treat eczema. A handful of the entire plant made into a paste is applied on cuts and wounds for healing Its decoction is given during labour pain to increase uterine contraction. The juice of the leaves is used as a remedy for the removal of opacities of the cornea Its leaves are used along with Haldi (Curcuma longa Linn.) and Allium cepa on injury Stem (1 kg) is boiled in 1 l of water. The decoction (one cup) is taken during delivery pain to induce smooth delivery The juice prepared from 10 g of fruits with 200 ml of goat’s milk is taken orally two times a day for a period of 3 days to treat leucorrhoea A fruit ground with curd is applied on bald patches of the scalp to regain hair. The root decoction of the young plant is also used to cure impotency Leaf paste is applied locally in bone fracture of cattles
Sida rhombifolia L. (AS34)
Malvaceae
Bariyara
Smilax perfoliata Lour. (AS35)
Liliaceae
Ramdatun
Solanum nigrum L. (AS36)
Solanaceae
Makoy
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. (AS37)
Solanaceae
Aswagandha
Vernonia cinerea Less. (AS38)
Asteraceae
Sahdevi
Vetiveria zizanoides (Linn.) Nash. (AS39)
Poaceae
Khas
Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight. & Arn. (AS40)
Rhamnaceae
Kathber
Along with other ingredients mix to prepare special sweet preparation “Sethaura” for lactating mothers to provide strength and vigour The juice of the fresh root is taken for the cure of rheumatic pains and chronic skin diseases The paste of leaves are used for rheumatism and skin diseases with Aloe vera It is used for the aphrodisiacs, diuretics and for treating memory loss. Also used as a skin ointment and for promoting reproductive fertility Powder from the whole plant along with the leaves of Crataeva nurvala and Punica granatum is heated with castor and coconut oils and applied externally on breast to cure tumor The dried plant root is powdered and mixed with water to make a paste. This paste is applied on the fore head to relieve headache The fruits are used to relieve constipation, headache, cold and colic pain, treatment of measles, chicken pox, small pox and typhoid
Flavones, chalcones-mallotus AB, tannin, cardenolides, tannic acid, gum and volatile oil Mimosine, tetrahydroxyl, flavone, tannin and calcium oxalate Serpentine, resperpine, oleoresin and serposterol Mallic acid, tartaric acid, potassium bitartrate, flavone-G and amino acid Tinosporin, furanoid, diterpene and berberine Kaempferol, diosgenin, chlorogenin, hecogenin and ruscogenin Palmitic acid, stearic acid, myristic, linoleic and oleic acid Anthraquinone, oxyanthraquinone, tannin and rhein Ephedrine, cellulose and lignin Tannin, resin, cinchonin, saponin, flavonoid and glycosides Riboflavin, nicotinic acid and vitamin-C Withanolides, sominolide, sominohe, mindabeolide, and withanolide-R -Sitosterol, triterpenoids, sterol, fatty acids, -amyrin, etc. Sesquiterpene, ketone, acids and esters Cyclopeptid alkaloid, peptide alkaloids F, G and H and benzyl-iso-quinoline alkaloid coclaurine
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Mallotus philippinensis (Lam.) Muell.-Arg. (AS26)
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Table 2 Ranking of medicinal plants reported as threatened in the study site of Chandauli district. Key informants coded A–N
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. Dioscorea bulbifera L. Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
2 4 3 5
1 3 4 6
4 5 1 3
3 4 5 7
1 2 1 4
1 5 4 2
7 1 3 4
5 2 2 3
2 3 4 5
3 3
4 4 4 7
1 2 5 2
2 6 6 4
4 3 2 3
The status of all the medicinal plants was recorded as abundant, less abundant, rare or very rare as per healers’ perception during the semi-structured interviews. To determine the most threatened medicinal plants (four species) in the study area, authors short listed all medicinal plant species reported by traditional healers as very rare in the area and conducted preference ranking of these species using 14 randomly selected informants. 2.3. Data analyses Ethnobotanical data were analysed and summarized by using Microsoft excel and statistics to determine frequencies of citations so as to identify the most common ailments in the study area, popularly used medicinal plant species and multipurpose plant species, to determine proportions of different variables like plant families, growth forms, source of collection, degree of scarcity, plant part used, methods of preparation and threatening factors. 3. Results In this paper, I focused mainly on plant species reported by the tribal practitioners in and around the study area for their medicinal uses. Presented data are the general results of the ethnoboanical survey conducted from June 2007 to May 2008. Recorded plant species with their vernacular names, uses and mode of preparation are listed in Table 1. The tribal people of Chandauli district were using 40 species of plants belonging to 27 families. Among them 11 were herbs, 15 were shrubs, 8 were trees and 6 were climbers. The most commonly represented families were Liliaceae (5), Fabaceae (4) and Solanaceae (3). The results of growth form analysis of medicinal plants showed that shrubs made up the highest proportion being represented with 15 species (37.50%), followed by herbs (11 species, 27.50%), trees (8 species, 20.00%), climbers (6 species, 15.00%). This finding is contrary to the general pattern seen in most medicinal inventories (for example, Giday et al., 2003; Giday et al., 2007) where herbaceous medicinal plants dominate. Of the 40 medicinal plants studied, 33 species (82.48%) were collected from the wild while 4 species (10.00%) were found in cultivation and 3 species (7.50%) were obtained both from cultivation and the wild. This indicates that the practitioners depend on the wild source or the natural environment rather than home gardens to obtain the medicinal plants, and the activity of cultivating medicinal plants is very poor in the study area. It also indicates that the natural forest of Chandauli district is being over exploited by traditional practitioners for its medicinal plants composition. The plant parts used widely to treat human and livestock health problems include root, stem, leaves and others. The most commonly used plant parts for herbal preparations in the area were roots (33.91%) and leaves (25.65%). Such wide harvesting of roots, which are important for survival of plants has a negative influence on the survival and continuity of useful medicinal plants and hence affects sustainable utilization of the plants. Large proportion of herbal prescription from root sources was also reported by Addis et al. (2001) in their ethnobotanical investigations.
6
Total score
Rank
40 47 44 61
4 2 3 1
4. Discussion and conclusion The medicinal plants have various methods of preparation and application for different types of ailments and they have various preparation forms like concoction, decoction, powder, and crushed and homogenized in water. The preparation and application methods vary based on the type of disease treated and the actual site of the ailment. The medicinal plant preparations were applied through different routes of administration like oral, topical or dermal, and nasal routes. However, oral application (57.50%) was the highest and most commonly used route of application followed by topical (37.50%) or nasal and others application (5.00%). 4.1. Disease types, treatment methods and herbal preparations used to treat human health problems Though more than 22 different disease types were recorded as human health problems in the district. The most reported medicinal uses were for digestive, skin wound, circulatory, respiratory troubles, kidney, nervous and mouth problems. The presence of such a large number of medicinal plant species indicates that the area has a very high diversity of medicinal plant species and is a site for various indigenous knowledge. Medicines were prepared in the form of powder, decoction, paste and juice. It was also observed that some plants were used in more than one form of preparation. Several plants were used in the form of powder: examples are root powder of Semecarpus anacardium L. worm and applied on wound and cut, the dried seed powder of Cleome viscosa L. is mixed with sugar and administered orally twice a day for 7 days to relieve body pain. Herbal medicines prescribed by tribal healers are either preparation based on single plant part or a combination of several plant parts. They believe that combination of several plant parts cures diseases rapidly. Root paste of Mimosa pudica Linn. mixed with castor oil for treating measles. Leaf paste of Mimosa pudica Linn. is mixed with turmeric powder to treat insect bite. Root and leaves are used in piles. Small pieces of root of Hemidesmus indicus B. are baked in goat milk and used against sciatica. Generally, fresh part of the plant is used for the preparation of medicine. When fresh plant parts are unavailable, dried parts are also used. 4.2. Ranking of threatened medicinal plants Based on the degree of threat and rarity, ranking of four different medicinal plants that were recorded for rarity, was conducted after selecting 14 key informants in the study area. The results showed that Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. got the highest score indicating that it is the most threatened plant followed by Rauvolfia serpentina L. and Dioscorea bulbifera L. On the other hand Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. scored the least indicating that it was less threatened when compared to the other species (Table 2).
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4.3. Threats to medicinal plants and conservation practices In Chandauli District various factors that were considered as main threats for medicinal plants were recorded by interviewing the informants. The major factors claimed were deforestation (90%), agricultural expansion (85%), overgrazing (53%), fire (15%), drought (12%) and trading charcoal and firewood (10%). The effort to conserve medicinal plants in the district was observed to be very poor. Some traditional practitioners have started to conserve medicinal plants by cultivating at home gardens, though the effort was minimal. About 5.7%, of the medicinal plants collected were reported as found cultivated at home gardens and these include plants like Aloe barbadensis Mill. Allium sativaum L. Achyranthes aspera L. and Mimosa pudica Linn. With changes in the environment and life conditions it is common that in most of the ethnobotanical works informants believe that more medicinal plants were in use in past than now (Giday et al., 2003) and this work is no exception in this regard. This is as a result of the modern care system expansion and using synthesized medicines. Also the continued environmental degradation of medicinal plant habitats has brought the depletion of medicinal plants and the associated knowledge. Knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing because most of the people with medicinal plant knowledge are passed away without properly passing their knowledge to the next generations. Today there are few professional healers in the area, which regularly serve the community. Most of the knowledge of medicinal plants is owned by elders, who use the plants for their own families. They have fear to use their knowledge for the other families because the modern medical care system has banned them from using these practices. Due to the lack of the government health facilities in the district, the people are largely dependent on the traditional health care system. Traditional beliefs in the area also have their own unintentional role in conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. Hence, efforts must be taken to protect these species in this area by involving the local communities in preservation and conservation aspects (Hedberg, 1993). From this account it is clear that the information gathered from the tribes of Chandauli district is useful for further research in the field of ethnobotany, taxonomy and pharmacology. This study offers a model for studying the relationship between plants and people.
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Due to lack of interest among the younger generation of tribes as well as their tendency to migrate to cities for lucrative jobs, we face the possibility of losing this wealth of knowledge in the area of Chandauli district near future. It thus becomes necessary to acquire and preserve this traditional system of medicine by proper documentation and identification of specimens. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Dr. Gopal Krishna, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata for their nice help and corporation during identification of plants. The authors want to express their sincere gratitude to Dr. A.K. Singh, Head, Department of Botany, U.P. College, Varanasi. The author also thankful to the people of Chandauli district for sharing their ethnobotanical knowledge.This study was made with the help of Mr. Anjani Singh, Mrs. Rekha Singh and Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, without their contribution this work would have been impossible to make, to whom we wish to thank. References Addis, G., Abebe, D., Urga, K., 2001. A survey of traditional medicinal plants in Shirka District, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal 19, 30–47. Alexiades, M., 1996. Collecting ethnobotanical data: an introduction to basic concepts and techniques. In: Alexiades, M., Sheldon, J.W. (Eds.), Selected Guideline for Ethnobotanical Research: A Field Manual. The New York Botanical Garden, USA, pp. 53–94. Anyinam, C., 1995. Ecology and ethnomedicine: exploring links between current environmental crisis and indigenous medical practices. Social Science and Medicine 4, 321–329. Azaizeh, H., Fulder, S., Khalil, K., Said, O., 2003. Ethnomedicinal knowledge of local Arab practitioners in the Middle East Region. Fitoterapia 74, 98–108. Cotton, C.M., 1996. Ethnobotany: Principles and Applications. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, NY. Giday, M., Afsfaw, Z., Elmqvist, T., Woldu, Z., 2003. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Zay people in Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 85, 43–52. Giday, M., Teklehaymanot, T., Animut, A., Mekonnen, Y., 2007. Medicinal plants of the Shinasha, Agew-awi and Amhara peoples in Northwest Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 110, 516–525. Hedberg, I., 1993. Botanical methods in ethnoprarmacology and the need for conservation of medicinal plant. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 38, 121–128. Heinrich, M., 2000. Ethnobotany and its role in drug development. Phytotherapy Research 14, 479–488. Lev, E., Amar, Z., 2000. Ethnopharamcological survey of traditional drugs sold in Israel at the end of 20th century. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 72, 191–205.