Uses of Local Plant Biodiversity among the Tribal Communities of Pangi Valley of District Chamba in Cold Desert Himalaya, India

Abstract

Pangi Valley is the interior most tribal area in Himachal Pradesh of Northwest Himalaya. An ethnobotanical investigation is attempted to highlight the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants being used by the tribes of Pangi Valley. Various localities visited in the valley 2-3 times in a year and ethnobotanical information was collected through interviews with elderly people, women, shepherds, and local vaids during May 2009 to September 2013. This paper documented 67 plant species from 59 genera and 36 families along with their botanical name, local name, family name, habit, medicinal parts used, and traditional usage, including the use of 35 plants with new ethnomedicinal and other use from the study area for the first time. Wild plants represent an important part of their medicinal, dietary, handicraft, fuel wood, veterinary, and fodder components. These tribal inhabitants and migrants depend on the wild plant resources for food, medicines, fuel, fibre, timber, and household articles for their livelihood security. The present study documents and contributes significant ethnobotanical information from the remote high altitude and difficult region of the world, which remains cut off from rest of the world for 6-7 months due to heavy snowfall.

Morphological and Ecological Adaptations, and Cytological Studies in <i>Astragalus rhizanthus</i> Royle ex Benth. (Papilionaceae), an Endemic to Himalayas

“…Roots have also been used as a heat stimulant and for skin diseases in Kashmir and Ladakh regions (Kaul 1997). In the Pangi Valley of the Chamba district and Lahaul-Spiti, the species is used as fodder (Sood et al 2001, Rana et al 2014a. Chaudhary et al (2008) emphasized the significance of chromosome numbers in interpretation of phylogenetic relationships in Astragalus and also pointed towards strong correlations between its geographic distribution and chromosome numbers.…”

Callus mediated biosynthesis and antibacterial activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles from Viola canescens: an important Himalayan medicinal herb

“…(vernacular-Banafsha; English name-Himalayan white violet; Family-Violaceae) is a popular ethnomedicinal plant throughout Himalayas [1,50,51] as the plant is used against almost every ailment either solitary or with some other plant/s. Different parts of the plant are used against common cold and also acts as antipyretic, analgesic and anti-constipating agent [10], anti-septic [50], and treat jaundice to cancerous and neurological disorders [23,31,39,51,55]. This potency of plant is due to the presence of several heterogeneous phytochemicals present in them, which is confirmed by methanolic and ethanolic extracts of plant used for phytochemical profile screening [10,50].…”

The Artemisia Genus: A Review on Traditional Uses, Phytochemical Constituents, Pharmacological Properties and Germplasm Conservation

“…Indeed, the knowledge of herbal medicines were identified by a community, practised, and heirloomed to the successive generation [4]. Although several synthetic drugs are available to treat various diseases and disorders but, they are not free from side-effects [5]. On the other hand, there is an increasing demand of the herbal medicines as they are safe, effective, economical, eco-friendly and free from deleterious effects.…”