Traditional knowledge, food uses, and ethnomedicinal applications of Chenopodium album L. across five districts of Punjab, India

Abstract

Background: Chenopodium album L. (bathua) is a widely distributed wild edible and medicinal plant that contributes to traditional healthcare and dietary practices in rural communities in India. However, quantitative ethnobotanical information on its traditional uses in Punjab remains limited. This study documented traditional knowledge, food uses, and ethnomedicinal significance of C. album across five districts of Punjab.

Methods: Ethnobotanical information was obtained from 220 purposively selected informants using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions, and field observations during November 2024–October 2025 across Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana, Punjab, India. A study-specific Ethnobotanical Knowledge Score (EKS) was constructed to summarize the breadth of reported human food-use and ethnomedicinal knowledge. Frequency of Citation (FC), species-level Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Fidelity Level (FL) were calculated to describe medicinal-use reporting among the surveyed informants.

Results: Ethnobotanical knowledge scores differed significantly among age groups, with elderly informants recording the highest scores and younger informants the lowest. Leaves (47.27%) and leaves with tender stems (30.45%) were the most frequently reported plant-part categories. Among the 201 informants included in the human culinary-use analysis, saag was the most frequently reported principal culinary use (61.19%). Overall, 189 of 220 informants (85.9%) reported at least one medicinal use of C. album, giving a species-level medicinal Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) of 0.86. Digestive disorders were the most frequently represented principal medicinal-use category (54 informants; 24.55% of the total sample; FL = 28.57%), followed by skin disorders (30; 13.64%; FL = 15.87%).

Conclusions: C. album remains an important component of traditional food systems and ethnomedicinal practices among the surveyed informants in Punjab, India. Knowledge scores differed markedly among age groups, with lower scores among younger informants; however, the cross-sectional design does not establish a historical decline in traditional knowledge. The findings support continued documentation and further ethnobotanical, nutritional, phytochemical, and pharmacological investigation of this widely used wild edible species.

Keywords: Chenopodium album L., wild edible plants, traditional knowledge, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine