Medicinal plants of family Asteraceae used by Gujjar-Bakerwal community in district Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Gujjar-Bakerwal community is one of the most important indigenous communities of Jammu and Kashmir State of India. The present study reports significant ethnomedicinal information on plants belonging to family Asteraceae used by the Gujjar-Bakerwal community in district Rajouri of Jammu and Kashmir. Field trips in different parts of the study area were conducted between February 2012 and January 2013, and information on ethnomedicinal uses of members of family Asteraceae was collected through semi-structured interviews. An attempt has also been made to generate folk taxonomy (vernacular names with their meanings) of family Asteraceae in the study area. A total of 50 medicinal plant species of family Asteraceae were identi fied, which were used by the community to treat various human health related ailments viz., wound, arthritis, jaundice, fever, respi ratory problems, skin problems and gastrointestinal disorders. Most frequently used plant parts were leaves (36.0%) and roots (32.7%). Present study showed that the Gujjar-Bakerwal community of the study area has valuable ethnomedicinal knowledge about medicinal plants used to treat various ai lments. Further chemical and pharmacological studies on the reported medicinal plants are suggested for discovery of novel phytochemicals and drugs.