Medicinal plants traditionally used in health care practices by inhabitants of Paddar region of Jammu and Kashmir, India

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2024-11, Vol.334, p.118514, Article 118514
• Main Authors: Singh, Kanwaljeet, Kumar, Pankaj, Kumar, Bushan, Sharma, Jyotsana, Andrade-Cetto, Adolfo, Gupta, Prasoon, Gairola, Sumeet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aquilegia; Cannabis sativa; Capsella bursa-pastoris; Corylus jacquemontii; Cotoneaster; Eleusine coracana; Euphorbia helioscopia; family; Female; females; Ficus palmata; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; health services; Humans; India; Informant consensus factor; Juglans regia; Male; males; Medicinal plants; Medicine, Traditional - methods; Middle Aged; Paddar; phytochemicals; Phytotherapy; Pinus gerardiana; Plant Preparations - therapeutic use; Plantago lanceolata; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; Plants, Medicinal - classification; Sium; species; Taraxacum; therapeutics; Traditional knowledge; traditional medicine; Viburnum; Viola; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118514

The present study is the first quantitative assessment of ethno-medicinal plants of Paddar region of Jammu and Kashmir. The study aimed to document the relative importance of medicinal plants used in human ailments by the villagers in the Paddar region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Data were collected from 132 informants (72 male and 60 female) through semi structured interviews and group discussions. Use report (UR) and Informant consensus factor (ICF) were employed to quantitatively examine the data. The inhabitants of Paddar reported the use of 98 plants species of 55 families to treat 63 ailments. Rosaceae (10 spp.) was the most frequently used family in the study area. Herbs were dominantly (66 spp., 50%) utilized in herbal preparation and leaves the mostly used plant parts (25%). The highest informant consensus factor (ICF = 0.96) was obtained for parasitic problems. Important new uses for species stated by informants to treat human diseases were; Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. ex DC., Sium latijugum C.B.Clarke, Corylus jacquemontii Decne., Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik., Cannabis sativa L., Taraxacum campylodes G.E.Haglund, Euphorbia helioscopia L., Juglans regia L., Cotoneaster acuminatus Lindl., Ficus palmata Forssk., Plantago lanceolata L., and Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. The current study contributes towards the preservation of indigenous plants’ based knowledge. Although the therapeutic value of most of the preferred medicinal plants has already been validated, some medicinal plants lack proper scientific validation. We recommend further phytochemical investigations and pharmacological validations of Viburnum grandiflorum, C. jacquemontii, F. palmata, Viola pilosa, Cotoneaster acuminatus, Eleucine coracana, Sium latijugum, Aquilegia pubiflora, Euphorbia helioscopia, Plantago lanceolata and Pinus gerardiana. [Display omitted] •This is the first quantitative ethnomedicinal assessment of medicinal plants in Paddar.•132 informants were interviewed through semi-structured interviews and group discussions.•98 medicinal plant species were used to treat 63 ailments of 19 disease categories.•The highest number of use reports was observed for Artemisia maritima L. and Elwendia persica (Boiss.) Pimenov & Kljuykov.•New uses were reported for some species such as Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. Ex DC., Hedera helix L., Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw., Cannabis sativa L. etc.