Medicinal plants used by the rural people of Taluka Purandhar, district Pune, Maharashtra

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey of taluka Purandhar was undertaken during 2008-2010. During field visits <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Bhagat</i>/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Mukhia</i> and other herbal healers were contacted, interviewed and information on 42 plants used as traditional medicine was collected. Further analysis showed that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Vaidu</i> / <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Bhagat</i> used six species for scabies; four species for diarrhoea; three species each for stomach ache, urinary trouble, teethache, kidney stone, constipation, two species each for skin disease, leucorrhoea, cough & colds, and one species each for arthritis, asthama, fever, etc. It is interesting to note that, for controlling skin diseases, the mode of preparation and administration of drug from plants like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Cassia tora</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">C. fistula, Martynia annua, Amorphophalus commutatus, Calotropis gigantea, Pongamia pinnata</i> were found to be varying from other reports. The practice of herbalists also showed that efficacy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Ashwagandha</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Shatavari</i> is increased by adding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Tinospora</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Bryonia</i>. Main objective of the study is to collect scattered information on the medicinal plants used by the traditional herbalists in the rural and remote areas of Purandar taluka and analyze whether it is new or varying from earlier reports.