Published Paper Details:

Ethnobotanical pharmacopoeia is confidently used in disease intervention and there is need for documentation and preservation of traditional medical knowledge to bolster the discovery of novel drugs. This research was carried out among the ethnic groups (Gaddi & Gujjars) in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh of India. Twenty-six (26) plant species of ethno pharmacological importance were gathered and documented throughout study period (January 2011 - March 2012). These medicinal plants were distributed among 26 genera and 18 families. Analysis of the growth forms of these medicinal plants revealed that herbs constituted the largest numbers or proportion with 12 species followed by shrubs and trees. The documented ethno medicinal plants were mostly used to cure kidney stone, skin disease, paralysis, stomach disorders, spermatorrhoea and fire burns. Indigenous knowledge, botanical diversity and ethno pharmacopoeia practices were recorded from Kangra District. The botanical resources were found to be under threat due to several anthropogenic and natural factors. Disappearance of traditional medical skills was evident in the study area and this prompts for design of linguistic, anthropological and ethnographic methods in the context of ethno pharmacology to document the indigenous knowledge so as to minimize the eminent fragmentation and biodiversity loss.