Traditional Knowledge on Medicinal Plants used by the Tribal People of Birbhum District of West Bengal in India

The present paper deals with observation on ethno medicinal uses of plants by the tribal people of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Tribal medicine is an age-old therapeutic system which is traditionally practiced among different tribal communities for their primary health care needs. The tribal people of this district mainly depend upon the forest flora for their livelihood and use herbal medicines in curing the ailments and diseases. Altogether 30 plant species belonging to different families have been recorded from the district. These plant species are effective for various common human ailments. Considering individual plant parts it is found that leaf is used in 20 cases, bark in 12 cases, fruits in 6 cases, stem in 3 cases, latex and flowers in 2 cases, sap and rhizome in 1 cases. Finally the recorded plant taxa have been enumerated according to their botanical names along with families, local or tribal names, parts used, disease cured, mode of administration, etc. This folk knowledge on medicine should be documented immediately and therapeutic validation of these herbal medicines is emphasized. To avoid biodiversity extinction some measures would be taken, like, cultivation of rare medicinal plants, provision of training and extension services to farmers engaged in cultivation of medicinal plants, establishment of herbal gardens in forest areas and creation of seed bank.

The present study highlights the traditional knowledge of different ethnic groups of Birbhum district about the usefulness of various medicinal plants towards curing of different ailments.