Abstract

ETHNOMEDICINAL USE OF DIFFERENT MEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY THE TRADITIONAL PRACTITIONERS IN NORTH EAST INDIA FOR THE TREATMENT OF JAUNDICE

Gunamoni Das*, R. K. Sharma and Manisha Borborah

ABSTRACT

The forests of North-East India are rich in medicinal plants; many are still unknown to us. Traditional healers of North-East India were studied for the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of jaundice. We report 47 numbers of medicinal plant species and 24 types of traditional healing treatments for the cure of jaundice. But the traditional use of plants has declined due to scarcity of medicinal plant species which is caused by human activities and over grazing by animals. Therefore, it is essential to focus on conservation of these plant species. Again the traditional healers are on the decline because the younger member of the tribes have started moving towards the towns and cities and are not willing to practice this form of medicines. There is danger that the knowledge of these traditional practices will also die with them. It is therefore, necessary to document the medicinal plants and the indigenous traditional practices to conserve them.

Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Traditional practitioners, Medicinal plants, Jaundice, North East India.