Survey of medicinal herbaceous plants in Behali Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, Northeast India: Traditional use patterns, phytodiversity, and conservation relevance among adjacent communities

Abstract

Background: Behali Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) harbors high biodiversity, including a rich diversity of herbaceous plants with considerable ethnomedicinal value. For generations, local communities in the surrounding areas have managed ailments such as fever, peptic ulcers, diabetes, headaches, wounds, digestive disorders, dysentery, malaria, and psoriasis through the use of these plants as traditional medicines. Scientific validation of these ethnomedicinal plants is essential to facilitate the identification of bioactive constituents, assessment of safety and efficacy, and exploration of their potential pharmaceutical applications.

Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in BWS between February 2025 and January 2026. A total of 207 informants, comprising traditional healers, farmers, and elderly community members from five adjacent villages, were consulted through semi-structured interviews and guided field walks. Data were collected following standard ethnobotanical methodologies and analyzed using quantitative indices.

Results: A total of 50 medicinally important herbaceous species belonging to 24 plant families were documented. Local inhabitants reported preparing herbal formulations from leaves, stems, rhizomes, roots, flowers, and whole plants for oral or topical application. Torenia crustacea (L.) Cham. & Schltdl. recorded the highest frequency of citation (FC = 116; RFC = 0.560), while Murdannia japonica (Thunb.) Faden recorded the lowest (FC = 2; RFC = 0.009). The Acanthaceae family showed the highest Family Importance Value (FIV = 0.576), while Asteraceae was the most species-rich family (7 species).

Conclusions: This ethnobotanical inventory documents significant diversity in medicinal herbaceous plants and reveals substantial traditional knowledge of plant-based therapeutics within BWS communities. The results underscore the urgent need for bioassay validation of the most frequently cited species, particularly with respect to bioactive compound isolation, safety profiling, and pharmaceutical integration. Conservation of both plant diversity and traditional knowledge in the sanctuary should be prioritized.

Keywords: Ethnobotany, Behali Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, medicinal herbs, traditional medicine, Northeast India