Diversity of medicinal plant traditionally used by Baiga tribes in District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

The conventional source of medicinal plants is an important way for daily curative uses in rural area throughout Madhya Pradesh. Folk medicinal specialists or traditional healer (Medicine men), assume an indispensable part in a medicinal services arrangement of both provincial and urban populace of the nation. It is vital to conduct broad meetings of individual medicine men of an area to get the overall status of medicinal plants. A survey was accomplished in the rustic territory of district Umaria, Madhya Pradesh. This investigation has uncovered a sum of 40 plants out of which 33 plants were identified, which belongs to 22 families. Whole plants and/or plant parts, like leaves, stems, barks, roots, flowers, fruits, seeds and wood were usually used by Biga tribe (Medicine men) for the treatment of different illnesses. Leaves (5%) were the most oftentimes used plant parts, trailed by roots (11%), fruits (3%) barks (5%), whole plants (3%), seeds (2%), latex (2%) and flowers (2%). Add up to 33 diverse individual illnesses professed to be restored by plant parts including Breast abscess, Cure carbuncle, Cure rheumatic, Cure scabies, Diabetes, Diarrhoea, Eczema, Haematuria, Headache, Jaundice, Leucorrhoea, Leukoderma, Menstrual disorder, Piles, Rat bites, Scorpion bite, Skin burns, Skin disease, Spermatorrhea, Stomachache, Toothache, Typhoid and fever, used to abortifacient, increase milk after delivery, Whooping cough and Wounds of animals. Several uses of the plants could be validated by available literature review. It is expected that other plants used for treatment of various diseases by the Biga tribes (medicine men) can be subjected for further bio-activity and phytochemical studies, which prompts disclosure of new medications.