Ethnomedicinal use of some plant species by Gujjar and Bakerwal community in Gulmarg Mountainous Region of Kashmir Himalaya

Abstract

Background: Plants are being used since the time immemorial to alleviate sufferings and ailments. Herbal medicine forms an essential part of the traditional primary medical system of Kashmir Himalaya. Present study attempts to report the essential ethnomedicinal plant species used against various ailments by Gujjar and Bakerwal community of Gulmarg Mountainous region of district Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.Methods: Extensive surveys were conducted in the study area in different seasons during March 2019 to July 2020 for the collection of medicinally important plants and the traditional knowledge associated with them. Ethnomedicinal data was obtained through group discussions, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and field observations. During the study a total of 54 informants (36 males and 18 females) were interviewed aged between 29-78 years. The interviews were carried out in local dialect and all the documented data was then translated into English.Results: A total of 60 plant species belonging to 56 genera and 35 different families were reported to be used by Gujjar and Bakerwal community in order to treat various ailments. Asteraceae was recorded to be the dominant plant family in the area and leaves were the most commonly utilized plant part with decoction as the major mode of herbal recipe preparation. The highest ICF value of 0.83 was reported for dermatological disorders. Present study reported two plant species Taraxacum officinale and Viola odorata with a FL of 100% and Achillea millefolium, Chenopodium album, Phytollaca acinosa, Ajuga bracteosa, Cannabis sativa, Senecio chrysanthemoides were reported to be the most important medicinal plants according to their use value.

Diversity and Ethnobotany of tree species in subtropical region of Jammu Shivalik’s range of NorthWestern India: A depository of knowledge for People’s Biodiversity Register

“…But it is quite lower in comparison to the 197 plants from 87 families and 174 genera from Kathua district (Rao et al, 2015); 162 tree species from primary forests of Garo Hills, India (Kumar et al, 2006). Similar studies were done in J & K, where 35 plants species were recorded from shiwalik mountains of Azad J&K (Khanum et al, 2022); 39 trees species from kalidhar forest range of western shiwaliks (Sharma and Kumar, 2021); (Jan et al, 2021) reported 60 plant species belonging to 35 families in the temperate forest; 213 vascular plant species from mixed subtropical and temperate forests of Devi Pindiyan valley in trikuta hills of Northwest Himalaya (Thakur et al, 2019); 323 plant species from lower shiwalik hills (Sharma et al, 2015); 190 species from hills of north western Himalayas (Dutt et al, 2015). Although Protected Areas (PAs) play a key role for the harbouring elusive flora and fauna similarly our study area encompasses 3 wildlife sanctuaries (Nandni WLS, Surinsar-Mansar WLS-some part in samba and Ramnagar WLS) but we excluded the sanctuaries because our motive was to document trees species near to the villages and settlements in peri urban areas.…”

Quantitative ethnoveterinary study on plant resource utilization by indigenous communities in high-altitude regions

“…Furthermore, using green leaves and aerial parts is regarded as safe and sustainable for fodder. Jan et al ( 47 ) also report that fresh and dried leaves are reported as the most used parts of the Gulmarg Kashmir Himalaya. In this study, raw (46%) was the most common form of preparation, followed by paste (16%) and powder (13%) ( Figure 3C ).…”

Inventory of medicinal herbs utilized for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in district Kupwara of Jammu and Kashmir

“…Jammu and Kashmir that lies in the northern region of India has a rich diversity of over 300 medicinally important plant species (Kaul 1997). A number of ethnomedicinal studies (Sarin and Kapur 1984;Haq et al 2021: Jan et al 2021Mir et al 2022) conducted in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir have listed medicinal plants used by local practitioners and local ethnic communities for the treatment of various ailments. However, to the best of our knowledge, the present investigation about the use of medicinal plants to treat MSK diseases is the first report from district Kupwara of Jammu and Kashmir.…”