Assessing Ethnic Traditional Knowledge, Biology and Chemistry of Lepidium didymum L., Lesser-Known Wild Plants of Western Himalaya

Abstract

Tribal communities have a long history of association living in close contact with nature as herdsmen, and their mode of use of natural products as food and medicine dates reverse to ancient time. Usually, the folklore knowledge transfers from one generation to next generation by the way of living and the mode of usage of available resources. There is less known information on taxonomy, ethnic traditional knowledge, nutrient contents and chemistry of Lepidium didymum L., a leafy wild edible Himalayan culinary herb. The authors have documented such folklore knowledge for the first time from two Himalayan nomadic and pastoral communities—Gujjars and Bakarwals, from seven regions (Patnitop, Sanasar, Kud, Batote, Bani, Nathatop and Mantalai) of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Investigations were carried out using snowball technique from 167 people both the male and the female, aged 17–68 years. As per knowledge investigated, L. didymum is commonly used as seasonal cooked vegetable, local medicine, fodder for animals, salad, chapati making and traditional dish Wazwan preparation. The field data analysis shows high use value of this species. The plant prefers to grow in subtropical and temperate climate and has high nutritive values due to the presence of high glucose, unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, vitamins and minerals. This finding will lead to the formulation of new nutraceutical products as value addition from wild edible plants for people residing in the high-altitude regions of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in the world.