Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Jajpur district of Odisha, India

Abstract

Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between peoples and plants. Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine practiced by various ethnic groups, and especially by indigenous peoples. The word ethnomedicine is also synonymous with traditional medicine. Indigenous knowledge is traditionally used by the local people for the cure of some common ailments. This experiment was carried out in the Jajpur district of Odisha, India to explore the therapeutic use of traditional plants by local inhabitants. The ethnomedicinal use of 68 plant species was documented in the study area. Different plant parts like bark, leaf, flower, seed, stem, rhizomes, root, whole plant and oil were reported as used in raw or cooked form against different diseases. Prominent diseases and ailments against which, the plants were found to be useful were cough and cold, inflammation, dysentry, indigestion, asthma, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, epilepsy, jaundice, malaria, rheumatism, skin disorder ulcer and different skin diseases. Some plants were also found to be useful for treatment of nerve disorders. This paper enlists the medicinal plants used by the traditional healers, indigenous people of the locality.