Ethnomedicobotany is the study of traditional knowledge and practices about herbal remedies. Traditional medicine is an important aspect of our cultural heritage. Protection of our traditional knowledge through documentation and patents is the need of the hour. The present study was undertaken to document plant species that are used as a traditional cure by rural and urbanpopulationof Kanpur Division (U.P), India. The information was gathered using questionnaire based survey along with informal discussions. The study also recorded the inclination towards traditional herbal medicine as compared to other healthcare systems like - Allopathy and Homeopathy. In case of traditional herbal remedies, information regarding disease specific usages of plants, doses and mode of administration wascompiled through informal discussion and questionnaire based survey. 179 plant species belonging to 68 families were used in the treatment 89 different types of ailments. 57 families were dicotyledonous with 152 plant species and 11 families were monocotyledonous with 27 plant species. Out of the total respondents 68% had faith in Allopathic system of medicine, 14% in Homeopathic and 18% in Ayurvedic system of medicine. The main attributes which were found from the survey regarding traditional herbal remedies are their accessibility and affordability, they are time tested and effective and their comparatively low cost. More than 2,000 patents issued to multinational companies belong to the Indian systems of medicine. There is a need to protect traditional medicines from foreign patents. The data accrued is expected to serve in documenting and preserving ethnomedicobotanical knowledge. It would serve as an incentive for conservation of Traditional Knowledge and to safeguard our traditional knowledge from biopiracy.
Indian Traditional System of Medicine, Ethnomedicobotanical Survey Kanpur
