Plants used in tribal medicine due to culture and tradition factors

Abstract

Indian folk medicine is an age old system practiced by primitive people, particularly; the tribal’s residing in remote villages and forests. The knowledge gained over the years - through trial and error methods - about the medicinal uses of local flora are transmitted from one generation to another. It is an outcome of bold experimentation and useful observations made over several hundreds of years and are in fact considered as mother of all other traditional systems of medicine. This system is losing ground with time and getting influenced by modern medicinal practices. The depletion of the forest resources and lack of proper recognition to the traditional healers, is posing threat of losing the valuable age old knowledge. Traditional indigenous medicinal practice is a repository of knowledge that needs to dovetail with the innovations and practices of modern medicine for betterment of mankind.The “Study of Traditional medicinal practice among the Tribals of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana” was primarily undertaken to document and recognize the sustainable indigenous medicinal knowledge and practices of the tribals located in the Eastern Ghats of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and in Adilabad in Telangana. It is a qualitative and quantitative study, where data were gathered through interviews, direct observation, focus group discussions and questionnaires, and analyzed. The study brings to light that, how unique and innovative they were and how, over a period of time, the practices and knowledge is losing its ground and its impact on mankind, and environment, It has also raised pertinent questions on sustainability and the increased vulnerability of traditional healers.