Survey and documentation of putative anthelmintic plants used in ethnomedicinal systems of tribal communities of Baksa District of Assam

摘要

The use of ethnomedicine system is a common practice to the people of Assam for curing common ailments. The present study aimed at documenting the plants used by the tribal communities of Baksa district of Assam against helminthiasis. Survey was carried out in different villages of Baksa district in a face-to-face interview manner with the help of readymade questionnaire. Informer’s bio-data, plants local names, parts used, mode of formulation etc. were recorded. A total of 26 villages were surveyedand 27 informants were interviewed. We found that most of the informants were illiterate and aged but have rich ethnomedicine knowledge. To cure helminth infection, 70 plants belonging to 58 genera and 39 families were reported to be used. To study theimportance and popularity of the plants, Frequency of Citations (FC), Relative FC and Family importance value (FIV) were calculated. Andrographis paniculata was the most common plant followed by Ananas comosus, Hydrocotyle asiatica, H. sibthorpioides, and Azadirachta indica. Family Acanthaceae was having the highest FIV value followed by Apiaceae, Araliaceae, Bromeliaceae, Apocynaceae and Maliaceae. Leaves were seen to be the most common parts used in traditional herbal preparations and were mostly consumed orally as raw material.