Medicinal plant utilization among three linguistic groups in selected districts of Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Introduction: A number of indigenous communities reside in the Himalayan belt of Kashmir, where absence of modern health care facilities represents crucial problems to their survival. This study was conducted with the aim to document the use of medicinal plants by Gujjar, Bakerwal and Kashmiri communities of three different districts Jammu and Kashmir.

Methods: A total of 167 participants were selected through snowball sampling to collect the data using a semi-structured questionnaire. Among these, 44 were Kashmiri, 67 Gujjar and 56 Bakerwal between 24 and 80 years of age.

Results: During the study, 80 medicinal plants belonging to 36 families were documented. The most dominant family in terms of number of taxa was Asteraceae (11 species). Herbaceous taxa were the most used life form, and leaves were the most commonly used plant part. Infusion was the most preferred method used in extracts preparation. The highest number of sixteen species (20%) were uniquely used by Kashmiri, while the Gujjar use the lowest number of thirteen species (16%). A cross-cultural evaluation of plant resources indicated that the three cultures possessed 14% of the comparable plants.

Conclusion: The rural and inaccessible communities still lay a considerable emphasis on medicinal plants as a viable cure for a diverse spectrum of illnesses. But the disappearance of this vital information is imminent. To assess and retain this native knowledge for the invention of innovative new treatments, more phytochemical and pharmacological research should be done on the plants that are reportedly utilized by all of the groups.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, Traditional knowledge, Gujjar, Bakerwal, Kashmiri