Medicinal uses of edible wild fruits of Chenab Valley of Jammu, India

Data pertaining to ethno medicinal uses of edible wild fruits in treating various ailments were collected from the local people from Kishtwar, Ramban and Reasi districts of Jammu Division of Jammu & Kashmir. A total of 260 individual were interviewed by visiting the selected villages based on the pre-structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews that comprised of traditional healers and people who had sufficient knowledge of local flora. The ethnomedicinal interview consisted of some targeted questions regarding the habit, local name of the plants, plant part used, method of crude drug preparation, mode of administration and method of collection and storage. Use value, relative frequency of citation, and family importance value were calculated to elaborate the EWFs, their families and ethnomedicinal uses. Results revealed that the fruits of 32 plant species (28 genera from 20 families) are being used for the treating various ailments by the inhabitants of Chenab valley. Almost all the formulations were administered orally. Relative frequency of citation values ranged from 0.01 to 0.17 and use value ranged from 0.04 to 2.0. EWFs are quite common in the area and are possess medicinal properties as well. The tradition of using EWFs in treating various ailments is a common practice among the inhabitants of the Chenab valley. The multiple uses of these fruits suggest further investigation regarding pharmaceutical applications.