Ethnomedicine and Traditional Health Care System of a Particular Vulnerable Tribal Group in India: Application of Plant Extracts

Abstract

Background The exploration on association of between human and nature has made conceivable to comprehend the undercurrent lifestyle of the communities and the ecosystem in which they inhabit together. Over the last decade there has been a rise of ethnomedicinal studies, still small is known about use of ethnomedicine in traditional health care system of the Juang, which is one of the 75 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) in India. Traditional system is unique and undeniably an important cultural ingredient. The aim of the present study was to document the ethnomedicinal practices of the Juang, who live in forest fringes and hill tracks and derive their livelihood from forest-based resources. They used varieties of plant extracts, traditional knowledge and belief system for treatment as well as prevention of from various disease and ailments. Methods Besides questionnaire as a tool for data collection, Interview, observation (both participant and non-participant observation) and focus group discussion (FGD) were used. Field surveys were carried out in three phases. The informants were selected through the snowball sampling technique. Twelve males and two females key informants were interviewed. The study was exploratory and qualitative in nature. Results It was found that 38 medicinal plant species belong to 26 families as having ethnomedicinal uses in the traditional health care practice among the Juang community. Comparatively leaf part (36%) frequently utilized followed by root (21%), seed (7%), bark (7%), fruit (6%), rootstock (4%) and tender twig (3%) for medicinal purposes. Conclusions Our study can be concluded that the Juang people are rich in indigenous knowledge and have provided novel information on the use of medicinal plants to cure, protect and prevent from various diseases and ailments, that are scientific in nature. The novel information has been generated in the present study which will through a light in the direction of modern medical science for the sustainability of human society and recognize the indigenous knowledge as well. We suggested that indigenous knowledge need to be documented and integrated with scientific knowledge to develop new health care management programme.