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24 September 2021

Therapeutic Uses of Wild Plants by Rural Inhabitants of Maraog Region in District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

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1
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan 173229, India
2
Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division, ICAR—Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai 400019, India
3
Department of Zoology Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Cluster University, Mandi 175001, India
4
MS Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan 173229, India
Horticulturae2021, 7(10), 343;https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100343
This article belongs to the Collection Prospects of Using Wild Plant Species in Horticulture
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Abstract

The main aim of this study is to document important ethnomedicinal plants from the Maraog region, located in the district of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, India. A total of 110 medicinal plant species belonging to 102 genera and 57 families were reported from the study site. All of the species were collected from wild habitats. The rural people of the Maraog region were surveyed through interview methods, group discussions, and participatory observations. In the current study, data were collected from 88 informants through the snowball method. A total of 110 plant species were collected from the study area, including 64 herbs, 24 shrubs, 9 trees, 5 climbers, 3 grasses, and 5 ferns. Most of the plant species, reported from the study area, belong to the Rosaceae and Asteraceae families, each contributing 12 plant species, followed by the Lamiaceae family with 6 plant species. The most used part of the plant in the preparation of herbal medications is the leaves, which have been reported in 62 plants, followed by roots in 14 plants, and flowers and other aerial parts in 9 plants. The ethnomedicinal data were analyzed using “Use Value,” a statistical quantitative method, with Artemisia vestita having the highest use value (1.00), followed by Cannabis sativa (0.79), Rhododendron arboreum (0.79), and Datura stramonium (0.71). Older people were found to have a vast knowledge of wild medicinal plants, while the younger generation’s knowledge was lacking. As a result, traditional knowledge about the use of plants as a source of medicine has decreased day-by-day. Therefore, there is a need to document traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. The data could serve as a basis for research by pharmacological and nutraceutical industries for the development of novel drugs.

1. Introduction

Since ancient times, wild or naturalized plants have provided social security to millions of people globally, in the form of fuel, food, fodder, supplements, raw materials for industries, medicines, and especially a source of additional income [1,2,3]. According to the World Health Organization, about 65–80% of people in developing countries are reliant on herbal remedies made from medicinal plants [4]. About 90% of the plant species used in the Indian herbal industry come from the Western Himalayas [5]. The Indian Himalayan region was well-known for its floristic diversity, with approximately 1748 medicinal plant species reported from the region [6], which were used in various fields of chemistry, pharmacological research, pharmacognosy, and clinical therapeutic studies [7,8]. Himachal Pradesh is the northeastern state of India, geographically divided into three distinct regions; the outer Himalayas (Shivalik range), the mid-hills, and the greater Himalayas, which cover an area of 55,673 km2 [9,10]. Due to its diverse climatic, topographic, and geographical position or altitude, the state of Himachal Pradesh represents a rich source of biodiversity [11,12]. According to the data of the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Committee (Government of India), out of 1100 single-ingredient drugs, 350 plant species belong to native therapeutic groups, among which 225 species blooms in the state of Himachal Pradesh and were obtained commercially [13].
Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, is in the southwestern region of the Himalayas, lies at 31.61° N and 77.10° E and has a wide range of floristic diversity [11,12,13,14,15]. The area was represented by 1326 plant species belonging to 639 genera. Angiosperms, including 1003 species of dicotyledons, belonging to 498 genera and 313 species of monocotyledons, belonging to 133 genera. Whereas, the gymnosperms are characterized by only 10 species and 8 genera in the state [11,13]. The contribution of dicotyledons and monocotyledons to the world flora is approximately 81.3 and 18.7 percent, respectively, with the Shimla district accounting for 23.3 percent of monocotyledon species [11,13]. Approximately 500 species of medicinal plants have been reported from Himachal Pradesh [11,13]. From the very beginning of human civilization, people have been developing their knowledge of plant use, management, and conservation [16,17]. Indigenous people seem to have a hierarchical knowledge of these traditional medicinal plants for a variety of human diseases, and this knowledge has been passed on from one generation to the next [18,19,20,21]. This study documents the accumulated knowledge regarding plants in the Maraog region that has traditionally been employed for the treatment of different human diseases.
No such study has been conducted previously in this area, thus it will assist in providing valuable information to the ethnomedicinal research field, and such information is expected to be useful in the discovery of drugs [22]. Such studies have been done in different parts of the world, including Pakistan, Nepal, Africa, America, Europe, Poland, Argentina, Australia, Iran, New Zealand, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, as well as different parts of South, North and East India. The declining rate of ethnomedicinal knowledge amongst younger generations was found to be a common problem in all the reported countries [23,24,25]. As the economic condition of people living in rural areas is improving day-by-day, people are becoming less dependent on traditional medicinal practices, thus knowledge in the use of medicinal plants is also diminishing [26]. Therefore, it is important to document ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants before it vanishes completely.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Site

The current survey was conducted in the rural areas of the Maraog region in the Shimla district, which is in the southwestern part of Himachal Pradesh [27,28], as shown in Figure 1. This area lies in the subtropical to temperate zone and is blessed with floristic diversity [29]. The Maraog village of tehsil Chopal is a far-flung area of the district of Shimla and is located between 77°24′30” and 77°49′00” East Longitudes and 30°46′30” to 31°04′30” North latitudes, having regular temperature fluctuations between 33 °C and 5 °C. This area witnesses up to 1200 mm of rainfall and winter snow annually [28,29].
Figure 1. (a) Geographical identification of the study area; (b) satellite map.

2.2. Sampling Informants

During the survey, a total of 88 informants (57 males and 31 females) were interviewed by the snowball method. The age and educational background of informants were also recorded during the interview. The informants were divided into 5 groups on the basis of their age (Table 1).
Table 1. Demography and literacy among informants.

2.3. Ethnomedicinal Data Collection and Ethical Considerations

The aim of the present study was to explore and identify wild medicinal plants, and to document their ethnomedicinal use as practiced by the rural inhabitants of the study area. The survey was conducted in July 2020 to June 2021. The information was gathered from 88 people, ranging in age from 22 to 65 years old. We briefly informed the locals about the study and asked them for their valuable knowledge of wild medicinal plants. Direct interviews, pre-tested questionnaires, group discussions, and field observations were the major information gathering methods from the inhabitants. The questionnaire was divided into 3 sections: Demographic data, ethnomedicinal plant uses, and the informant’s declaration (Table 2). They were asked to share common names of plant species, parts used, and their application for various ailments. The samples of plants were collected from the study site and identified by BSI, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, then mounted on standard herbarium sheets and submitted to the herbarium of Shoolini University, India [30].
Table 2. Questionnaire for Conducting the Ethnomedicinal Study.

2.4. Data Analysis

Ethnomedicinal data were gathered from 88 randomly selected informants from the Maraog region in Tehsil Chopal. The ethnomedicinal collected data were analyzed using use value. The analysis of ethnomedicinal data, obtained from the informants, was done statistically by using the “use value”, which is a quantitative approach for demonstrating the relative importance of a particular species known to folks. It was calculated using the following formula:
UV = ∑Ui/n
where UV is the use value of a species Ui, the number of citations per species and n is the number of informants. The high number of use value indicates the importance of that plant species, while the lower number of use value indicates that plant species was relatively less used [31,32].

3. Results

It was found that the inhabitants of the study area used different plant species for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The most reported diseases from this study area, include coughs, colds, skin infections, stomach disorders, oral diseases, and diarrhea. Data about traditional medicinal uses of plants were collected from 88 informants, including 57 males and 31 females. The local communities residing in the study area were highly dependent on forest produce to fulfil their daily requirements of fuel, food, fodder, shelter, and medicines. After noting the demographic data and literacy rate of the inhabitants, it was found that aged people possessed an immense knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants compared to the younger generation.
The rural people of the study area used 110 plant species from 102 genera belonging to 57 families for ethnomedicinal purposes. In this study, it was found that Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae were the most reported families. The Rosaceae and Asteraceae families had 12 plant species each, followed by the Lamiaceae family with 6 plant species. The Apiaceae, Pinaceae, Brassicaceae, and Solanaceae families each contributed 3 plant species, while the Fabaceae, Ranunculaceae and Polygonaceae families each contributed 4 plant species. The Amaranthaceae, Berberidaceae, Oxalidaceae, Poaceae, Primulaceae, Pteridaceae, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Utricaceae contributed 2 species (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Representation of the number of species per family found in the study area.
The plants identified from the study area were herbs (64), shrubs (24), trees (9), climbers (5), grasses (3) and ferns (5) (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Percentage of growth forms of plant species at study site.
While documenting the data, it was found that, in the preparation of herbal medications, leaves were the most used plant part, followed by roots and flowers (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Representation of the number of citations of plant parts used.
Plant parts were used in the form of paste, juice, decoction, and infusion. Table 3 arranges the information about the collected plants in a systematic order with botanical names, family, common names, habits or growth forms, parts used as medicine, and mode of administration with description.
Table 3. Ethnomedicinal plants used in study area.
According to the informants, the mode of administration can be oral or topical, and certain plants can be used both internally and externally. The use value was also reported as it measures the relative importance of a specific plant species. The highest use value was found in Artemisia vestita (1.00), Cannabis sativa (0.79), Datura stramonium (0.71), Rhododendron arboreum (0.79), Mentha viridis (0.68), Viola canescens (0.56), Ajuga parviflora (0.51) and Phytolacca acinosa (0.40). The most reported diseases or disorders from the study area, include skin infections, diabetes, diarrhea, fever, cold, and cough. The local informants reported that these 110 plant species were readily available throughout the study area. These plants were highly recommended by the informants for treating different human diseases. Some plant species, found in the study area, are well-known for their medicinal properties for instance, Artemisia vestita, Ajuga parviflora, Bergenia ciliata, Cannabis sativa, Cynodon dactylon, Delphinium denudatum, Foeniculum vulgare, Taraxacum officinale and Urtica dioica [20,26,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39].

4. Discussion

Plants remain necessary for people’s well-being, as they provide a significant number of traditional and modern treatments or techniques used in healthcare. Today, the knowledge of wild plants can play an important role worldwide, not only because of their therapeutic properties, but also because they can represent a source of innovative products in many sectors, such as defense of plants from pest disease, bio-preservatives, nutraceuticals, functional foods, cosmetics, and agrochemical industries [36,40]. The wild plants are used by the inhabitants of the state for the treatment of diseases related to human beings [38]. Traditional medicines are preferred over modern medicines or drugs for a variety of reasons. These include ease of access, therapeutic efficacy, and a low cost of health services [39,41]. Medicinal plants are the primary source of traditional medicine for people living in backward or remote areas of developing countries [42]. Traditional healers have been found to play an essential part in rural people’s primary health care system, as healthcare in these regions treat those with limited affordability and access to modern medication. Plants have always been important to indigenous communities as they provide food, shelter, and fodder. Plants contain a variety of pharmacologically active chemical compounds which are the reason for their medicinal potential [43,44,45,46,47].
The present study documented different types of diseases such as curing colds, coughs, diarrhea, jaundice, stomach disorders, diabetes, skin infections, eye infections, and fever. The goal of this study is to document and assess traditional ethnomedicinal plant knowledge, as well as to compare knowledge distribution and investigate where research efforts are concentrated, in order to get a sense of current research requirements and future research possibilities in the region. In present study folks remarkably informed that their preferences for ethnomedicinal plants are, Artemisia vestita, Ajuga parviflora, Berberis lycium, Bergenia ciliate, Cannabis sativa, Chenopodium album, Delphinium denudatum, Equisetum arvense, Rumex hastatus, Rhododendron arboreum, Thymus linearis, Urtica dioica, Valeriana jatamansi and Viola canescens. The plant species such as Delphinium denudatum, Gentiana argentea, Goodyera repens and Valeriana jatamansi are becoming rare and very difficult to find from study area. Some ethnomedicinal plants used by local people were reported earlier by many scholars from different parts of the state named as Bergenia ciliata, Berberis lycium, Juglans regia, Prunus cerasoides, Rhododendron arboreum, Rumex hastatus, Urtica dioica and Valeriana jatamansi [12,26,39].
Along with the medicinal uses of plant species, we have statistically proved the importance of these plants. For this, we used a quantitative method called “Use Value” that determines the relative importance of plant species [31,32]. The most commonly used and important species had a high use value, and plants of less importance remarkably had a lower use value. It was noticed that few plant species had greater use value, for example, A. vestita (UV = 1.00), C. sativa (UV = 0.79), D. stramonium (UV = 0.71), R. arboreum (UV = 0.79), M. viridis (UV = 0.68), Rhododendron arboreum (UV = 0.79), V. canescens (UV = 0.56), A. parviflora (UV = 0.51) and P. acinosa (UV = 0.40), whereas some were reported to be less important as they have lesser use value.
The bioactive substances such as flavonoids, lignin, coumarins, alkaloids, sterols, glycosides, and terpenoids, present in these ethnomedicinal plant species, might contribute to their therapeutic activities [21,26,35,38,48]. For example, alkaloids, glycosides, rumicin, nepalin, nepodin, and rumicin in R. hastatus, flavonoids, phenolic acids, protocatechuic acid, fatty acids, and carbohydrates in S. nigrum [49]. Taraxacin, taraxacerine, cerylalcohol, lactuce-roltaraxacin, choline, inulin, tannin, etereal oil, vitamin C, xanthophylls, potassium and vitamin A in T. officinale [50]. Alkaloids, amino acids, carbohydrates, protein polymer, carotenoids, and saponins in U. dioica [35], Curculigenin in C. orchioides [51]. All of these compounds are responsible for their bioactivity, such as antibacterial, antidiabetic, wound healing, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties [21,35,43,48,52,53,54,55,56]. The essential oil extracted from the aerial part of A. vestita is very well-known for its anti-inflammatory properties [57]. The cannabinoids in C. sativa have anti-inflammatory properties [58], and the compounds extracted from the parts of C. bursa-pastoris confirm its anti-inflammatory properties [54]. The phytochemical study of C. dactylon revealed details of its constituents like flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids etc. are responsible for its dermatological action [59]. Similarly, the anti-diabetic activities of A. parviflora have been confirmed by various researchers [60]. Several studies have revealed that today’s youth are uninterested in the traditional medical system [61]. They have little or no knowledge of plants, not even about the species of plants found in their surroundings. Only a few old people are left to pass on their knowledge to the next generation, but it has not been very effective [19,33,34,35,36,37]. The knowledge of medicinal plants of the Himalayan region has been reduced due to the absence of proper documentation and knowledge in the present-day generation [19,42,61,62,63,64]. Therefore, it is important to preserve ethnomedicinal knowledge by documenting literature and by proper interaction with the younger generation.

5. Conclusions

The traditional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants passes from one generation to the next without being properly documented. Due to modernization, the traditional knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants is declining. The current study was conducted in the Maraog region to document medicinally important wild plant species used by local communities. Herbs and shrubs were the most reported ethnomedicinal categories of plants by the native informants. The study on wild medicinal plants has never been reported before from the Maraog region of the district of Shimla. A total of 110 wild plants were collected from the study site, and reportedly used for various human ailments and administered either externally or internally. Modernization could be a reason for this.
The plants from the study site need to be evaluated through phytochemical and pharmacological studies to discover their potential against diseases and discovery of new drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to document wild ethnomedicinal plants used to cure diseases. Documentation of traditional knowledge also helps in the conservation of medicinally important plant species and natural resources. This study provides helpful insight into indigenous knowledge of wild medicinal plants for healthcare practitioners, students, researchers, and scientists in developing new medicines.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, resources, supervision, writing—original draft preparation: M.K., S.D. and S.P. (Sunil Puri); methodology, investigation and writing—original draft preparation: P.P., R., A.P., R.J., M.A., M.T., N.K., S.P. (Suraj Prakash), S.R. (Sonia Rathour), S.J.; software, writing—review and editing and formal analysis: M.M., J.S.G., M.K.S., D.C., S.R. (Sureshkumar Rajalingam), R.D.D., V.K.M., M.S. (Marisennayya Senapathy), S.P.B., S.N., S.C., M.S. (Minnu Sasi), S.S., N.R.; visualization: M.M., S.P.B., S.N., M.S. (Marisennayya Senapathy). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data is contained within the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors are highly thankful to BSI Dehradun for identification of plant samples. The authors would like to thank the University of Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein for the support through the OA program.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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