Ethnobotany of Butea Monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze in North Maharashtra, India
Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 5(4), 2006, pp. 323-325 Explorer: Research Article
Ethnobotany of Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze in North Maharashtra, India
M V Patil1, Shubhangi Pawar2 and D A Patil3* 1Department of Botany, GET’s Arts, Commerce & Science College, Nagaon, Dist. Dhule-424 004, Maharashtra, India 2Department of Botany, Pratap College, Amalner-425 401, Dist. Jalgaon, Maharashtra 3P.G.Department of Botany, S.S.V.P.S’s L.K. Dr. P.R.Ghogrey Science College, Dhule-424 005 *Correspondent author Received 13 April 2005; Accepted 21 October 2005
Abstract collected has been compared with the literature, viz. (i) The Wealth of India : A Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze, is an important multipurpose tree used for Dictionary of Indian Raw Material Series1, medicine, food, fibre and few other miscellaneous purposes. In North Maharashtra it is employed (ii) A Dictionary of Economic Products2, in about 26 different uses, of which nearly 18 are hitherto unreported from other parts of India. (iii) Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine The plant parts are used in the form of extract, juice, infusion, powder and gum. These uses are and Ethnobotany3, (iv) Handbook of noteworthy for further studies on modern scientific lines. Medicinal Plants4, (v) Cross-cultural Keywords: Ethnobotany, Butea monosperma, Flame of Forest, Palas, Dhak, North Ethnobotany of North-East India5, (vi) Maharashtra. 7 Applied Ethnobotany : A Case Study on The IPC code; Int. cl. — A61 K 35/78 Kharias of Central India6, (vii) Tribal Medicine7 and other recently published Introduction Methodology research papers, so as to point out about its new reports. The new reports are asterisked in the text. The specimens have Butea monosperma (Lam.) Extensive field trips were been deposited in the Herbarium, Kuntze, commonly known as Flame of conducted during 1997 to 2004 for Department of Botany of Pratap College, Forest, belongs to the family Fabaceae. gathering enthnobotanical information Amalner and Arts, Commerce and Science It is locally called as Palas, Dhak or related to Flame of Forest. The rural College, Nagaon (Maharashtra). Khakar and found in mixed or dry inhabitants and tribal people such as deciduous forests in western and Pawara, Bhil, central part of India. It is a medium Mavachi, sized tree with crooked branches and Vanjari, large 3-foliate leaves. Large flowers are Kokani, Warli, scarlet red with orange tinge. Mahadeo-koli, Leaf-like pods are flat and 1-seeded. Katkari, Different parts of the tree are being Thakur, etc. were used since ages in medicine and for interviewed other purposes. The utility and repeatedly and the importance of the tree to local information was inhabitants of Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar verified by actual and Nasik forms the subject matter of this observations in the paper. region. The data Butea monosperma
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Ethnomedicinal Uses Flower are used for making dinning plates *(i) Fresh flower extract is useful in and bowls1, 2, 4. * Root spermatorrhoea. About 20 ml is (v) Protection : Leaves are also used *(i) Root pieces are heated and then taken orally per day at night till for making Ghongda to protect extracted. About 2-3 spoons of it are cure. from rains. advised at night as a remedy against *(ii) It is also useful to prevent pus from (vi) Vegetable : Flowers and young impotency. It is administered for one urinogenital tracts of males. fruits are used as vegetable by 3 month. *(iii) Flowers are crushed in milk and tribals . sugar is added. Three to four spoons (vii) Dye : Flowers are boiled in water (ii) Root powder is applied on injury if drunk per day for a month helps and cooked to obtain a dye5. of snake-bite. Spoonful of root to reduce body heat and chronic *(viii) Festival : Fresh twigs are tied on powder mixed with water is drunk fever. horns of bullocks on occasion of as an antidote for snake-bite3. *(iv) Flowers are soaked in water ‘Pola’ festival. overnight and a cup of this infusion Stem is drunk every morning against (i) Stem bark powder is used to apply Discussion and Conclusion leucorrhoea till cure. It is also on injury caused due to axe. useful for strangury. Utility of roots against *(ii) Stem juice is applied on goitre of impotency; stem bark against body human beings. Seed swelling, stem juice against goitre, petiole *(iii) Paste of stem bark is applied in case (i) Two to three seeds are powdered for cough, cold, stomach disorders; leaves of body swellings. and consumed by children as a for conjunctivitis, diabetes, sore throat, remedy against intestinal bleeding menstruation; flowers for Leaf worms1, 2, 4, 7. reducing body heat against chronic fever, *(i) Petiole is chewed and the juice is *(ii) Seeds are crushed in milk and this spermatorrhoea, leucorrhoea, pus from sucked to cure cough, cold and mixture about two spoons is taken urinogenital tracts of males; seeds for stomach disorders. orally to treat urinal complaints and urinary stone; gum for foot cracks and *(ii) Leaf juice is dropped into eyes to also against urinary stone. against dysentery, etc., are not reported treat conjunctivitis. elsewhere, apart from other two *(iii) Leaf powder, about two spoonfuls Gum miscellaneous uses. per day for a month is drunk mixed *(i) It is applied for cracks on foot sole Leaves are collected on large scale with a cup of water to cure diabetes. before going to bed. for making dinning plates and cups. They (iv) Extract of fresh leaves is employed *(ii) Two spoons of diluted gum are are sold in local markets. It is a good to kill intestinal worms2. advised for dysentery till cure. species for cottage industry. Due to *(v) Leaf extract is used to gargle in case illicit cuttings their number has of sore throat. Miscellaneous reduced considerably. This should be *(vi) Leaf extract, about a cup, is checked especially to maintain supply of administered regularly at night for (i) Fibre : Bark fibres are obtained leaves. a month to a diabetic patient. from stem for making cordage1, 3, 4. It is also interesting to note that *(vii)Leaf extract, about three to four (ii) Fish-poison : Stem bark powder all parts of this tree species are employed 3 spoons, is drunk at night for two to is used to stupefy fishes . for various purposes by the rural folks and three months. It checks irregular (iii) Fodder : Green leaves are good aborigines in the region. This 2 bleeding during menstruation. fodder for domestic animals . demonstrates that the tree is a boon for (iv) Domestic utensils : Fresh leaves indigenous people. The species showed
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- Explorer: Research Article great potentiality and appeared to have a 6. Varghese E, Applied Ethnobotany – A Case broad-spectrum effect on several ailments. Study of the Kharias of Central India, (Deep It is, therefore, suggested that these Publications, New Delhi, India), 1996. indigenous practices should be 7. Pal DC and Jain SK, Tribal Medicine (Naya scientifically screened and followed up by Prakash, Culcutta, India), 1998. a multi-disciplinary team of ethnobotanists, botanists, physiochemists, pharmacologists and medicinal experts for appropriate tests. The aborigines in some localities have their major dependence on such trees, hence, they should be trained for appropriate methods of collections of major and minor forest products.
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the Principals of our colleges for providing necessary facilities.
References
1. The Wealth of India: A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Industrial Products – Raw Material Series, Vol. I-XI (Publication and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India), 1948, pp.251-252.
2. Watt George, A Dictionary of Economic Products of India, Vol. I-VI (Periodical Expert, Shahadara, Delhi, India), 1889-1893.
3. Jain SK, Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine and Ethnobotany, (Deep Publications, New Delhi, India), 1991.
4. Bhattacharjee SK, Handbook of Medicinal Plants (Pointer Publishers, Jaipur, India), 1995.
5. Saklani A and Jain SK, Cross-Cultural Ethnobotany of North-East India (Deep Publication, New Delhi, India), 1994.
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