Medicinal plants used in management of certain ailments by the Monpas of Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh, India has rich traditional knowledge on traditional medicines, while, the current study attempts to document the traditional knowledge on the medicinal plants used by them. The field and herbarium techniques were followed to obtain the essential information on the use of medicinal plants. The collected plant species were identified with the consultation of taxonomic literature Floras and Herbaria. Altogether 16 medicinal plant species belonging to 13 families were reported to be used by the Monpa community of this region. Leaves (32%) were the most frequently used plant part, while the flowers (5%) were the least. A total of 16 different medical conditions were reported to be neutralized using these plants. As it was claimed by the locals, these medicinal plants are considered to have no side effects and have multiple health benefits. The plant species Oenanthe javanica, with the highest CIs (Cultural Importance Index) and URs (Use Report) score was reported to be the culturally most significant plant among all the medicinal plants used by the Monpas of this region. Moreover, ICF (Informants Consensus Factor) values specified that there was high agreement in the use of plants in the headache and gastro-intestinal ailments category among the users. The rich bio-resources of this region may be further explored to widen the potentiality of herbal medicines.