Background Indigenous communities use wild plants to cure human ailments since ancient times, such knowledge has significant potential for formulating new drugs and administering future health care. Considering this the present study was undertaken to assess use value, diversity, and conservation concerns of medicinal plants used in traditional herbal care system of a marginal hill community in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand in the Central Himalayan region of India. Methodology Extensive surveys were made in 73 villages to gather information on ethnomedicinal use of plant species used in traditional herbal healing system. A total of 100 respondents were identified (30 herbal healers called ‘ Vaidyas’ and 70 non-healers/natives) and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires, target interviews and group discussion. Some important indices such as the use value index (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC), cultural importance index (CI), and informant consensus factor (F ic ) were calculated for the medicinal plants included in the present study. Result It was recorded that the community use a total of 70 species with 64 genera and 35 families for curing various ailments. Family Lamiaceae recorded maximum number of medicinal plants. 21 species used most extensively in traditional health care system. The major parts of the identified plants used for treatment of various ailments were root/rhizome and leaf. The most common methods used for preparation of these plants were decoction and infusion. Ocimum basilicum L., Cannabis sativa L., Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Sw., Curcuma longa L.and Setaria italic L. had the highest rate of use report. RFC value ranged between 0.03 to 0.91 with highest values for Setaria italica, Zingiber officinale, Ocimum basilicum, and Rephanus sativus . The traditional knowledge is passed verbally to generations and needs to be preserved for the future bio-prospecting of plants that could be a potential cure to any future disease. Conclusion In recent years the community has access to modern hospitals and medicinal facilities, although a considerable number still prefer medicinal plants for curing select ailments. It is suggested that these ethnomedicial species need to be screened and evaluated further for their effectiveness for pharmacological activity. Also, significant efforts are required to conserve traditional knowledge and natural habitats of wild medicinal plants.

Background: Indigenous communities use wild plants to cure human ailments since ancient times; such knowledge has significant potential for formulating new drugs and administering future health care. Considering this, the present study was undertaken to assess use value, diversity, and conservation concerns of medicinal plants used in traditional herbal care system of a marginal hill community in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand in the Central Himalayan region of India. Methodology: Extensive surveys were made in 73 villages to gather information on the ethnomedicinal use of plant species used in the traditional herbal healing system. A total of 100 respondents were identified (30 herbal healers called Vaidyas and 70 non-healers/natives) and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires, target interviews, and group discussion. Some important indices such as the use-value index (UV), relative frequency citation (RFC), cultural importance index (CI), and informant consensus factor (F ic) were calculated for the medicinal plants included in the present study. Result: It was recorded that the community uses a total of 70 species with 64 genera and 35 families for curing various ailments. Family Lamiaceae recorded the maximum number of medicinal plants. Twenty-one species used most extensively in the traditional health care system. The major parts of the identified plants used for the treatment of various ailments were root/rhizome and leaf. The most common methods used for the preparation of these plants were decoction and infusion. Ocimum basilicum L., Cannabis sativa L., Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Sw., Curcuma longa L., and Setaria italica L. had the highest rate of use report. RFC value ranged between 0.03 and 0.91 with highest values for Setaria italica, Zingiber officinale, Ocimum basilicum, and Raphanus sativus. The traditional knowledge is passed verbally to generations and needs to be preserved for the future bio-prospecting of plants that could be a potential cure to any future disease. Conclusion: In recent years, the community has access to modern hospitals and medicinal facilities, although a considerable number still prefer medicinal plants for curing select ailments. It is suggested that these ethnomedicinal species need to be screened and evaluated further for their effectiveness for pharmacological activity. Also, significant efforts are required to conserve traditional knowledge and natural habitats of wild medicinal plants.

The roots of Angelica glauca Edgew., a high value critically endangered plant, were collected from two alpine Himalayan locations of Uttarakhand (India). The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation, analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to determine the variation of concentration in their constituents. A total of 26 compounds were identified in both the oils, representing 97.7-98.2 % of total oil compositions. The major components of A. glauca oils were characterised as (Z)-ligustilide (40.6-53.0 %), (Z)-butylidene phthalide (20.7-32.8 %), (E)-butylidene phthalide (2.5-5.9 %) and (E)-ligustilide (2.1-2.3 %). Due to the higher relative area quantum of monomeric lactones (phthalides and ligustilides) in A. glauca populations (69.3-90.6 %) growing in Uttarakhand, there is a need to develop propagation protocol for mass multiplication and in situ and ex situ conservation.

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Objectives Rubus ellipticus (family Rosaceae) is used for its delicious edible fruits in the Himalayan region and other parts of the globe. However, the full potential of the species is yet to be harnessed. The current review focuses on the phytochemical, traditional uses, morphological, molecular and pharmacological potential of R. ellipticus. Key findings The review of the literature reveals that many health-promoting compounds of R. ellipticus have been reported from the species along with the different biological properties, such as nephroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-proliferative, cytotoxicity, anti-cancer, wound healing, anti-fertility, anti-plasmodial, anti-microbial and antioxidant. Traditionally, it is used in many formulations, which are validated through primary pharmacological assays. However, several medicinal properties are still need to be validated through detailed pharmacological and clinical studies. Summary All the information is available in a scanty form, and the complete information is missing on a single platform. Such type of information will help researchers to better utilize the available data for initiating future research on the species as it has the potential to contribute to the food and pharmaceutical industry. The review highlights the need for further studies on the species to harness its potential in nutraceutical, functional food, energy supplement, and beneficial therapeutic drug development program.