ABSTRACT:
Plants are an integral part of life in many indigenous communities. Besides, being the source of food, fodder, fuel, ee, the use of plants as herbal medicines in curing several ailments goes parallel to the human civilization. Ehnopharmacology involves the investigation of the plants used by the traditional communities and further understand the pharmacological basis of these culturally important medicinal plants. The present study was conducted to document the field observations on traditional use of medicinal and aromatic plants by the inhabitants of Kangra and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh in North-Western Himalaya. These districts are inhabited by different ethnic groups including two main tnibes, gaddis and gujars. A large number of plants of local flora are used by the inhabitants of these regions to cure various ailments of human and livestock Extensive field surveys were conducted in Kangra and Chamba regions during February to December, 2015. The information on ethno-medicinal plants was gathered through questionnaires with local knowledgeable people, gaddis, guijars and traditional healers. The data collected through interview of informants was analysed using three different quantitative indices viz use-value, factor informant consensus and fidelity level. A total of 73 plants belonging to 65 genera and 39 families were recorded. The highest number of ethno-medicinal plants was recorded from the family Asteraceae (8 species) followed by Lamiaceae (7species), Apiaceae (4 species) and Leguminosae (4 species). Leaves (48%) were the most frequently used plant part used to treat various ailments followed by whole plant (16%) and roots/thizomes (16%). The most important medicinal plants as per the use-value were Viola canescens, Zanthoryllum armatum, Ajuga parviflora, Berberis lycium, Pogostemon benghalensis, Vitex negundo, Cinnamomum tamala, Podophyllum hesandrum, Aconitum heterophyllum, Aloe sp, Bergenia ciliata, Pyrus pashia, Achyrunthes bidentata, Cassia fistula, Adhatoda aolanica, Micromeria biflora, etc. The important ailment categories classified on the basis of factor informant consensus were gastrointestinal, circulatory and respiratory disorders. The maximum species were used to cure gastrointestinal disorders, followed by respiratory disorders, circulatory and dermatological disorders.