Ethnomedicinal plants used to cure stomach disorders in forest fringe communities in Northern part of West Bengal

Abstract

The present study was carried out in the eight forest fringe villages of Chilapatta Reserve Forest in the Northern part of West Bengal, India.The aim of the study was to document the ethno-medicinal plant resources used against stomach related disorders and their application procedure. A total of 43 plant species belonging to 40 genera and 31 families were documented. These documented species were dominated by trees (22) followed by herbs (11), shrubs (6) and climbers (4). The dominant plant families were Combretaceae, Rutaceae and Lamiaceae with 3 species each. Among various stomach related disorders, gastroenteritis was cured by maximum number of plant species (15), followed by dysentery (14) and stomach pain (9). Most dominant plant parts used were leaf of (20) species followed by fruit (13) and bark (8). The plant parts were employed by the inhabitants in the form of infusion, decoction, paste, latex etc. either as a sole drug or in the combination of other species. The documented plant species can be utilized by scientific community for further evaluation and recommendations to the practicing communities.