280-290, 2010 ISSN 1995-0748 This Is a Refereed Journal and All Articles Are Professionally Screened and Reviewed

280 American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 4(3): 280-290, 2010 ISSN 1995-0748 This is a refereed journal and all articles are professionally screened and reviewed ORIGINAL ARTICLES A Survey of Ethnomedicinal Plants used by the tribals of Ajoydha Hill Region, Purulia District, India 1Abhijit Dey and 2Dr. Jitendra Nath De 1Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Presidency College, 86/1, College Street, Calcutta-700073, West Bengal, India. 2Retired Head and Reader, Charuchandra College, Calcutta. Flat No.-C-103, Sunrise Estate, 14C, R.N. Chaudhuri Road, Kolkata-700015. Abhijit Dey and Dr. Jitendra Nath De; A Survey of Ethnomedicinal Plants used by the tribals of Ajoydha Hill Region, Purulia District, India ABSTRACT Purulia, The westernmost district of West Bengal, is inhabited by a large number of tribals. A study on the ethnomedicinal plants of Ajodhya hill and its surrounding tribal villages was carried out. Through questionnaire, personal interviews and conversation, a total number of 56 plant species used by the aboriginals to treat different ailments of human beings and livestock were enumerated. The major ethnic groups present in this area include Santhali, Bhumijs, Mundas, Oraon, Birhor, Mal Pahariya, Kharia and Ho. During the investigation, a well developed system of ethnmedicinal practices was found to exist among the tribals. The family Fabaceae was having maximum number of medicinal plants (7) used by the tribals followed by Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae (4 each). The major plant part used was constituted by roots followed by leaves and stem. Gastrointestinal ailments, Fever, cough and cold related ailments, skin diseases and sexually transmitted diseases were the four major disorders treated by the use of medicinal plants in this area. 14, 10, 6 and 6 plants were found to be useful in the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments, fever, cough and cold related ailments, skin diseases and sexually transmitted diseases respectively. Key words: Ethnomedicine, Tribals, Ajodhya Hill, Purulia, West Bengal, India Introduction Since time immemorial the human society has developed amidst, and in close association, with the plant life (De, 1980a). The relationship between the indigenous people and their plant surroundings forms the subject of Ethnobotany, a science (De, 1968), which includes a study of the plants used by the tribals for food, medicine and clothing (Jain and De, 1966). Purulia is situated in the declivity of Chota Nagpur plateau. Aboriginal elements are strongly represented in the district itself; mostly living isolated lives in remote spurs of hills, covered almost to their summits with heavy forests (De, 1965). Earlier, investigations were carried out on some ethnobotanical aspects of this district (Dey et al, 2009; Vegetation based tribal economics (De, 1980a), food plants (Jain and De, 1964), minor plant fibres (De, 1965), plants used as lac host (Basu and Mukherjee, 1999) various ethnobotanical practices and ethnomedicines (Jain and De, 1966; De, 1967; De, 1979; De, 1980b; Sur et al, 1992a; Chakraborty et al, 2003; Chakraborty and Bhattacharjee, 2006) by the tribals of Purulia district were reported. Food plants used by the 'Paharias' of Purulia were reported by Basu and Mukherjee (1996). Bhakat and Pandit (2004) have reported an inventory of medicinal plants of some sacred groves of Purulia. Sacred groves and taboos in this district were explored by Basu (2000a). Traditional utilization of medicinal plants in intestinal, malarial and sexual diseases by tribals of Purulia was reported by Basu (2005). Exotic American plants employed as ethnomedicine in Purulia were reported by Basu (2000b). Kuiri et al (2002) have reported the use of medicinal plants in rheumatism by the Corresponding Author: Dr. Jitendra Nath De, Retired Head and Reader, Charuchandra College, Calcutta. Flat No.-C-103, Sunrise Estate, 14C, R.N. Chaudhuri Road, Kolkata-700015. Ph: +919748578977, E-mail: [email protected] Am. Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric., 4(3): 280-290, 2010 281 tribals of Baghmundi, Purulia. Some uses of ethnomedicines in Ajodhya hill region of Purulia district were reported by Sur et al, 1992b. Materials and Methods Purulia, the one of the tribal inhabited districts of West Bengal, is situated between 22°51’N and 23°42’N and 85°51’E and 86°54’E, covering an area of 6529 sq km with an altitudinal variation from 250m to 700m above sea level. There are low hills and undulating plateau including the Baghmundi (Avg. altitude 400m above sea level, rises up to 600m) and Ajodhya ranges (several peaks with altitude more than 600m above sea level) in the west (Jain and De, 1966). The temperature range is from 7°C in winter to 45°C in summer and the total annual rainfall ranges between 1240 mm to 1400 mm. The major tribal languages are Santhal (S); Bhumija (Bh); Bengali (B); Hindi (H); Munda (M); Oraon (O); Birhor (Bir); Mal Paharya (MP); Kharia (Kh); Kharwar (Kharw); Gond (G) and Ho (Ho) (Jain and De, 1964), where the abbreviations used in this report, are mentioned within parenthesis. The Kurmis add to a great extent to the aboriginals of the district (De, 1965). Different plant species were found to be used to treat various types of ailments. The plants, their use as ethnomedicinal system, plant parts used, mode of preparation, locality of use and the particular group of tribals using the medicines were studied, plant specimens were collected and documented in frequent field visits conducted from 2002-2004. The places of visit were the tribal villages of the Ajodhya hill and adjoining areas. The villages were visited in different seasons (summer, monsoon and winter) to avail most of the plant resources in their flowering condition. In the actual method of field studies, informants from different tribes who are familiar with the plants and their use by the members of their respective communities were selected by carefully taken interviews in previously arranged camps. Questions, problems and suggestions were put to them regarding the use of medicinal plants and their products in folk medicine as described by Jain, (1964); Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). Safety considerations in these ethnobotanical explorations were properly maintained. Mounted herbarium specimens known to grow in this area were placed to them and questions were asked on their usefulness. These were subsequently verified by taking them to field to identify plants on the basis of local tribal names previously noted from them. Local names and the areas were noted. Prior permission was taken from the informants for recoding of the information. Photographs were taken of the plants’ habit in flowering condition. Abundant plants were taken to prepare herbarium sheets. Rare and endangered plants were spared and photographed only. Different tribes have provided vast information regarding medicine and healthcare practised by them. Herbarium specimens and photographs were identified by taxonomists and stored for future use. Results and Discussion A total number of 56 plant species of 35 plant families were found to be used by the different ethnic groups present in Ajodhya hill and its adjoining villages. The results are summarized in Table 1. The highest number of plants were contributed by the plant family Fabaceae (7) followed by Euphorbiaceae (4) and Rubiaceae (4). The Asclepiadaceae and Combrataceae were having 3 plants each. Menispermaceae, Vitaceae, Verbanaceae, Solanaceae and Acanthaceae contributed 2 plants per family. Root constituted the major plant part used (50%), followed by leaves (15%), stem (13%), whole plant (8%), fruits (6%), seeds (4%) and flowers (3%).The results are depicted in Table 2. Among the different ailments treated by using medicinal plants, gastrointestinal disorders (14) were mostly prevalent and treated by the tribals and local medical practitioners or “kavirajs” in this area, followed by fever, cough and cold (10). Different plant species were found to be used against sexually transmitted diseases (6), skin diseases (6), eye diseases (4) rheumatism (3) urinary infections (2) etc. A few ethnomedicinal plants were found to be used in paediatric care (5) and mother care (2).The numbers within the parenthesis indicates the number of plants used to treat the diseases. 9 plants were found to be used by the tribals as a part of their ethnoveterinary system. Ethnomedicinal uses of these plants reported by other authors aredepicted in Table 3. Depending on the disorder, plants were used alone or in combination with other plants. Polygonum plebeium, when crushed with adventitious roots of Ficus benghalensis and bark of Butea superba was found to cure dysentery. The roots of Cissampelos pareira, crushed with the roots of Ocimum basilicum are given in stomach pains, cough and cold, especially in babies. To cure breathing trouble, roots of the same plant are crushed together with the roots of Piper longum and Allium sativum and prescribed. A paste made with the crushed roots of Ampelocissus tomentosa, resin of Shorea robusta and mustard oil is applied as poultice on boils. A medical preparation of three fruits, called “Trifala” made from Terminalia chebula (“Haritaki”), T. bellerica (“Bahera”) and T. arjuna (“Arjun”) is used to clear intestine. Andrographis paniculata (known as “Chireta” locally) is considered to be a substitute of true “chirata” Swertia sp. Seeds of Argemone mexicana, Am. Eurasian J. Sustain. Agric., 4(3): 280-290, 2010 282 crushed with fruits of Cleistanthus collinus are used to prepare a paste to treat skin diseases. Buchanania lanzan roots are crushed with Piper nigrum to be administered to cure red urine disease (“rukhi”). The stem bark of Terminalia bellerica crushed with the roots of Clerodendrum phlomidis, bark of Wendlandia exserta and roots of Polygala crotalarioides in a preparation and given to cure cold and high fever. Fresh stem bark and leaves of Syzygium cerasoideum crushed with Scoparia dulcis plants are given to cure pneumonia. A single plant part may be used to treat more than one ailment as was the case with Abrus precatorius, Pterocarpus marsupium, Tinospora cordifolia etc.

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