Role of Wood Water Properties and Leaf Dynamics in Phenology and Response to Drought in Evergreen Himalayan Tree Species

Shresta

et al. 2022

Ethnobot. Res. App.

Background: For centuries, the Changunarayan municipality has been inhabited by people who have a long tradition of using medicinal plants to treat human ailments. Habitat degradation and improper harvesting are the major threats to the medicinal plant species in this area. The present study aims at documenting and identifying plant-based ethnomedicinal knowledge of the local people in order to preserve the dwindling indigenous knowledge.Methods: The primary information on the medicinal plants were collected through field observation, interviews, and a semi-structured questionnaire. A frequency index value was determined to compare the medicinal plants that were used frequently by the local people. Moreover, the factor of informant consensus (FIC) was determined for the assessment of homogeneity on the informants' knowledge regarding medicinal plants. A Pearson correlation test and a simple linear regression were performed to evaluate the relationship between the age of respondents and plants described by them.Results: A total of 96 medicinal plant species belonging to 56 families and 85 genera were used for the 40 different ailments documented in the municipality. Herbs (n = 47) occurred most frequently in the study area, and the most frequently used plant part was leaves (n = 30). The majority of the species were collected from the wild (57%).Ocimum tenuiflorum and Curcuma longa had the highest frequency index of 65%. The value of Chi-square test between genders and the number of plants described by them was determined to be significant (p-value < 0.001). A positive correlation (r = 0.708) was found between the age groups of informants and the number of plants described by them. The FIC value in the study ranged from 0.4 (cardio-vascular) to 0.90 (fever). Conclusion: The medicinal plants have been playing an enormous role in the health care of the villagers, though the study area is very close to the capital city. The plants used in the study might open the way for the development of a scientifically verified botanical derivatives for modern medicine. Valuable traditional knowledge was limited to the older generation, which indicates a huge gap in knowledge transmission from the older to the younger generation.

Section: Habit Habitat and Plant Parts Usedsupporting

confidence: 74%

Ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people of Changunarayan Municipality, Bhaktapur, Nepal

Dulal

Shresta

et al. 2022

Ethnobot. Res. App.

“…Barks and twigs of very few plants were useful. It might be due to the reason that leaves is major part of nutrients synthesis and thus higher biochemical activity, which is reason behind using them as medicine, food, fodder and other uses (Poudyal et al, 2012). Acharya and Acharya (2009) and Singh (2017) reported similar results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Study was conducted in mid-rainy season, which might be another constraint for enlisting of more herbs. Multiple use purposes of trees and their abundant distribution in forest were controlling growth and number of other life forms (Poudyal et al, 2012;Singh, 2014;Acharya and Acharya, 2009;Bhattarai and Vetaas, 2003;Uprety et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic Plants of Tharu Community of Eastern Nepal

Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol

Magar

Sah

et al. 2020

Ethnobotany is the study of ethnic plants of particular people living in particular place. It accommodates list, details and description of all those studied plants regarding with their various uses. Tharu people belong to one of the indigenous communities especially in Terai region of Nepal. Tharu people have been using these plant resources since 18th century. This study aims to identify ethnic plants of Tharu community of eastern Nepal and their uses in their daily lives. Enumeration of useful plants from Tharu ethnic community was conducted in four villages of Ramdhuni municipality of Sunsari district. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and household sampling technique were used for data collection. Plant specimens were collected and information regarding it was obtained from local Dhamis, Jhankris, farmers and old age people. This study reported thirty-seven useful plant species under 25 families. In total 37 species, 25 were recorded as medicinal plant, used to treat pneumonia, menstrual disorder, stones, piles, skin disease etc. Other plant species were used for food, fodder, timber, fiber and ceremonial/ religious activities. Most plant species (78.3%) were having multiple use value, and kept under more than one use category and few species (21.7%) with single use category. Trees (27.02%) and herbs (27.02%), both were dominant over grass, shrubs, climbers and creepers. This study has revealed that many plants species are being used by Tharu community of Eastern Nepal as their ethnic plants for medicine, food, fodder, ornament, material etc which needs to be more explored. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 8(2): 223-230

“…Frequent use of leaves for medicinal preparation might be due to the easy availability and its collection (Mallik et al 2020). Since leaves are an important part of nutrient synthesis, they have a higher biochemical activity, which could be a reason for frequent use as medicine (Poudyal et al 2012;Chaudhary et al 2020). Moreover, this usage pattern of plant parts is likely due to the presence of more bioactive substances in roots, seeds and fruits (Srithi et al 2009).…”

Section: Test Variablementioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnomedicinal study and phytochemical screening of selected plants in Jhule, Dolakha District, Nepal

Khatri

Shrestha

et al. 2021

Vegetos

The study area is home to many ethnic groups, civilizations, and geo-climatic conditions that support a wide range of plant species. Ethnomedicinal practices are widespread in this region, as ethnic people in the countryside rely significantly on medicinal herbs for their primary health care. An ethnomedicinal expedition and phytochemical screening of selected plants was conducted in Jhule-2 of Dolakha district, Nepal. The present study was carried out by a questionnaire based on interviewing local people of different age groups and laboratory analysis respectively. A total of 101 species of plants belonging to 60 families and 92 genera have been documented. The documented plants were used to treat various human ailments like gastro-intestinal, respiratory, dental, dermatological, orthopaedical disorder, snake bite, rheumatism, heart pain, headache, fever and other miscellaneous. Most of the extracts were prepared from leaves and twigs followed by fruit and seed. We observed a positive correlation (Pearson correlation, R 2 = 0.854) between the age of respondents and their knowledge regarding medicinal plants. For phytochemical screening, Gaultheria fragrantissima, Rhododendron arboreum and Taxus wallichiana were taken. Methanol extract from the plant samples was used for analyzing phytoconstituents like alkaloid, tannin, reducing sugar, glycosides, terpenoids, volatile oils, steroids, saponins, and flavonoids. The result showed the presence of phytoconstituents like tannin, flavonoid, terpenoid, alkaloids, and steroids. Reducing sugar was absent in T. wallichiana. Glycoside was absent in R. arboreum. The presence of volatile oil was shown only by T. wallichiana and G. fragrantissima. The present study reveals the use of medicinal plants for different ailments and nutritional purposes, and phytochemical analysis of those plants is recommended, which has not been tested yet.