Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 4(3), July 2005, pp. 259-266 Traditional knowledge on medicinal plants among rural women of the Garhwal Himalaya, Uttaranchal Bhagwati Uniyal* and Vandana Shiva *Type IV/11 (Residential Complex) Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box No 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248 001; ‘Navdanya’, 105 Rajpur Road, Dehradun, 248 001, Uttaranchal E-mail: bhagwatiuniyal @ rediffmail.com Received 2 April 2004; revised 26 February 2005 The present paper deals with traditional knowledge of medicinal plants among rural women of Garhwal. Seventy women of 11 villages were interviewed on the basis of their traditional knowledge on the various uses of medicinal plants found in the adjoining forest and agricultural areas. A total of 113 medicinal plant species were recorded during the inten- sive surveys and discussions held with the rural women. Keywords: Traditional Knowledge, Medicinal Plants, Garhwal, Ethnomedicine IPC Int. Cl.7: A61K35/78, A61P11/10, A61P11/14, A61P13/02, A61P15/02, A61P15/04, A61P15/08, A61P15/10, A61P17/02, A61P19/02, A61P33/10, A61P39/02 Traditional medicine has been defined as the sum of for commercial use as livelihood option. Women in the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theo- the Himalayan region have an intimate and long time ries, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different association with the surrounding forests for fulfilling culture, whether explicable or not, used in the mainte- their daily needs of fuel, fodder and other forest pro- nance of health as well in the prevention, diagnosis, duce. Rural women in the Himalayas are the only improvement or treatment of physical and mental ill- ones who play a vital role having knowledge about ness1. In many developing countries, a large part of the properties of plants and how they can best be util- the population, especially in rural areas, depend ized. Thus, their knowledge must be considered as an mainly on traditional medicine for their primary essential component of all efforts to conserve and de- health care. The indigenous knowledge of medicinal velop in rural areas. Failure to document this indige- plants has been well documented in ancient Hindu nous ethnobotanical knowledge would result in per- literature. Traditional knowledge on medicine since petual loss of this knowledge to humanity. the time of Great sage Charak has led to the discovery Viewed from the fact that there is a serious threat of many important drug of modern age2. Today about to the medicinal plant diversity in this region, it is 65% of the Indian population depend on the tradi- reissuing to know that various research institutions tional system of medicine3. and individuals have suggested cultivation practices Plants have traditionally served as man’s most im- and documentation of traditional knowledge of me- portant weapon against pathogen. Medicinal plants dicinal plants prevalent in Himalayan region for their are widely used by all section of the community, long term conservation2,6,7,8. The main aim of the pre- whether directly as folk remedies or the medicaments sent study was to document the indigenous ethno- of the different indigenous system as well as in mod- botanical knowledge of rural women and to suggest ern medicine4,5. Himalayan forests are endowed with appropriate conservation practices. high floral diversity; of these most of the plants have high medicinal properties. The knowledge of utiliza- Study area tion of medicinal plants is very high among Himala- Uttaranchal is well known for its biodiversity rich- yan people. Economically weaker section of the ness and diverse cultural mosaic (Fig. 1). The state community collects medicinal plants from the forests comprises of 13 districts and lies between 28° 43′ -31° —————— 8′ N and 77° 35′ -81° 2′ E. The present study was *Corresponding author confined to 11 different villages (9 from Rudraprayag 260 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 4, No. 3, JULY 2005 and 2 from Chamoli district), viz., Moth, Dhamas, to gather maximum information of the plants used in Bhanigram, Ghagora, Manpur, Maikoti, Bamoli, the local medicine. Malkoti, Kandhar, Devtaoli and Guar (Table 1). All villages are situated between 700 to 2,800 m altitudes Results and discussion surrounded by sub-tropical to temperate forest and A total of 70 women were interviewed in 11 differ- agricultural fields. Rudraprayag district is totally cov- ent villages on the basis of their indigenous knowl- ered with different types of forest (Fig. 2). Dominant edge of the surrounding medicinal plants. A total of plant species of the region are pine, deodar, oak and 113 medicinal plant species were recorded after con- rhododendron. Large grasslands with variety of her- ducting the survey and having discussion with women baceous plant species occur in alpine region (Fig. 3, of different age groups. During the survey it was 4). The inhabitants of the area have agro lifestyle and found that most of the women of the study area use partially depend on traditional agricultural practices. medicinal plants for various therapeutic purposes in Most of the women of the study area have some in- their day-to-day life for primary healthcare. The re- digenous knowledge of medicinal plants and they spondents were 20-65 yrs of age. A large number of make use of the knowledge as primary healthcare. (63%) respondents were educated and remaining The inhabitants of this region have become familiar (37%) were illiterate and they were keen to provide with the economic properties of the existing plants the information and transferring the indigenous species. This has become the traditional system of knowledge of medicinal plants from one generation to 9 medicinal use . other. It was found that the young women had less information on indigenous knowledge but they were Table 1—Study villages and respondents most sensitive to conserve their knowledge and biodi- versity of this area. Villages Altitude (m) Number of respondents The study reveals that local people still depend on a number of plants for their daily needs specially Moth 2,800 2 medicines. Among 113 identified medicinal plants Dhamas 2,500 7 most of them are commonly found near village sur- Bhandigram 2,500 6 roundings, wasteland, and forest area. The community Ghagora 2,500 6 near village surroundings plants some tree species, Manpur 2,500 7 which are chiefly used for curing stomach pain, fever, Maikoti 1,500 4 cold & cough, bleeding & wounds, fungal infection, Bamoli 1,400 11 burns, rheumatic pain, and insect bite. Plants used by Malkoti 1,400 9 the respondents are tabulated in alphabetical order of Kandhar 1,300 6 plant name, local name and uses (Table 2). Guar 800 6 Uttaranchal has tremendous potential for medicinal Devtoli 700 6 plants cultivation and it can become one of the impor- Total 70 tant options for sustainable livelihood for the hilly area. About 300 medicinal plants species have been Methodology documented from Uttaranchal, indicating its potential The methodology adopted for the study was based as a herbal state and for strengthening herbal-based 9 on interviews of women having knowledge of me- industry in this region . New approaches of biotech- dicinal plants of their area (Fig. 5). The documenta- nology and conservation strategy can help preserve tion was done based on interview, informal discussion and utilize the indigenous knowledge of medicinal and observation. Group discussion among women of plants for humankind. different age groups was also taken into consideration for generating the information. The information thus Acknowledgement collected and documented as local name of the plant, We are thankful to Navdanya Trust for financial parts used in disease, habitat and status in the area. support for conducting the study. Thanks are due to Field trips were made to the villages from December respondents of the study villages for providing infor- 2002 to June 2003. Two to three attempts were under- mation. Thanks are also due to Dr. Vinod Bhatt for taken in each village for the interview and discussion, necessary support and useful discussion. UNIYAL & SHIVA: TRADITIONAL PLANTS AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN GARHWAL 261 262 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 4, No. 3, JULY 2005 Table 2—List of medicinal plant species used against various human ailments Botanical Name Local Name Uses Abrus precatorius Linn. Rattidana Roots used to cure ulcer and rheumatic pain. Acacia catechu Willd Kher Root paste is applied for curing ulcer. Aconitum heterophyllum Wallich ex Royle Aatis Root is useful for high fever and other stomach problem. Acorus calamus Linn. Baj Rhizome is used in the treatment of stomachache, fever, asthma, epilepsy and dysentery. Rhizome extract is also used as nervine tonic. Adhatoda vasica Nees Basingu Flowers with honey are useful for the treatment of bronchitis, asthma, cough and cold. Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa Bel Fruit pulp is useful in chronic cases of stomachache and dysentery. Aloe vera Linn. Patvaar Leaf paste is applied on burns. Amaranthus spinosus Linn. Kadya sagoti Warm root paste, peach seed and salt are applied on unhealthy ul- cers. Angelica glauca Edgew. Chora Root is used in toothache, stomachache and gastric problem. Argemone mexicana Linn. Kandaru Root paste is applied for insect bite and useful in fever. Arisaema intermedium Blume Bagmungari Roasted fruit paste is useful for burns. Arisaema tortuosum (Wallich) Schott. Nagdaman Tuber paste is applied in rheumatism. Dry tuber is used for breath- ing problems. Artemisia wallichiana Besser Kundju Leaf paste is useful for skin infection, ringworm and wound. Leaf juice is used for earache. Asparagus adscendens Roxb. Ghirunu Root extract is used as tonic in dysentery and general debility. Plant paste is applied for cooling the body temperature. Barleria cristata Linn. Kularkattya Leaf paste is applied on cuts as antiseptic. Bauhinia vahlii W. & A. Malu Root is used as toothbrush in pyorrhoea. Bauhinia variegata Linn.