Panda T., Mishra N., Rahimuddin S., Pradhan B.K., Rout S.D., Mohanty R.B.

Folk medicine used for the treatment of gynaecological disorders in rural areas of Bhadrak district, Odisha, India

Abstract Folk knowledge of the people in a given community has developed over time and is based on experience often tested over centuries of use, adapted to the local culture and environment and held by individuals or communities. This knowledge on resource utilization by human beings for medicinal purposes might have been established by trial and error, accumulated over thousands of years and often becomes encoded in everyday cultural practices. This study addresses an ethno-medicinal investigation in the interior of Bhadrak district, Odisha, India to explore, document and preserve the traditional knowledge for therapeutic use against gynaecological disorders by local inhabitants. The study is primarily based on field surveys carried out in villages, where traditional healers provided information about plant species used as medicine. Data on the use of medicinal plants were collected using standard procedures. A total of 38 medicinal plant species belonging to 29 families were gathered and documented throughout the study period to cure gynaecological ailments of human being. The predominant families are Fabaceae, Apocynaceae and Amaranthaceae. The most widely accepted plant species for the management of gynaecological ailments are Achyranthes aspera, Adhatoda vasica, Asparagus racemosus, Boerhavia diffusa, Moringa oleifera, Phyllanthus emblica, Piper nigrum, Saraca asoca, Trigonella foenum-graecum and Zingiber officinale.

Doi https://doi.org/10.2478/botlit-2018-0013

Keywords ethno-gynaecology, indigenous herbalist, local communities, medicinal plant, traditional knowledge

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