Ethnomedicinal survey of medicinal plants use from Narmada, Gujarat, India

The present study was conducted to document the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used for management of diseases and ailments in Narmada, Gujarat Province, India. The qualitative data was collected through semi structured questionnaires and personal interviews from 50 informants. The informants revealed the use of 23 medicinal plant species belonging to 19 families to cure 9 groups of diseases. Among the recorded plant species, trees (39.13%) and herbs (39.13%) were the most common life forms. Leaf (66.66%) was the most widely used plant part in the preparations and leaf decoction/extract (56.56%) was the most commonly used practice. Azadirachta indica with the maximum use value of 0.84 was mainly used to cure fever by the tribal people. Informant consensus factor was highest for diabetes (0.97) followed by lactation in women (0.96). Gymnema sylvestre and Aegle marmelos were used to cure diabetes, while, Asparagus racemosus and Alstonia scholaris were used to increase lactation in women. The study showed that that most of the tribal inhabitants were dependent on traditional medicines for primary healthcare. Further, efforts are being made to popularize cultivation of medicinal plants in the studied area.