Ethno-Medicinal Uses of Dongoria Kandha of Niyamgiri Hill, Odisha, India

Background: In the current study, the Ethnomedicinal data have been collected from tribal people of the Niyamgiri hill region of the Kalahandi district, in Odisha, India. The tribes of this region have been using medicinal plants to treat various diseases since time immemorial. Objective: The main objective is to find out the most used plant parts and their Ethnomedicinal values used to cure different diseases by tribal people of Niyamgiri hill region of Kalahandi district, Odisha, India. Methods: It includes recording the information on medicinal uses of plants by leading healers by taking interviews and recording the comprehensive knowledge about the medicinal properties of different plants with the snowball technique and sampling method. Plants are recognized by the local practitioner, also known as Kabiraja or Vaidya on the forest floor and were classified botanically. Results: The present study records the use of different parts of 50 plant species that belong to 47 genera of 35 families, against 48 human diseases, with special reference to diarrhea, dysentery, cold, cough, piles and fever. The practitioners use these plants to treat ailments like asthma, skin diseases, constipation, diabetes, toothache, wound healing, headache, infertility in women, mouth ulcer, insect bites, ringworms, thirst and eczema. All these medicinal plants are used as healing sources as no modern medical facilities are available nearby. The collected data are analysed through use value (UV). Bacopa monnieri (UV of 1.50), Bryonia laciniosa (UV of 1.33), Andrographis paniculata (UV of 1.0), Bryophyllum pinnatum (UV of 0.83), and Celastrus paniculalus (UV of 0.83) are the most frequently and popularly used medicinal plant species in the study area. Conclusion: 50 plant species were collected from the Niyamgiri hill region. It is found that still a large number of tribal people use their traditional knowledge and culture and have adopted herbal therapy for most diseases because of the strong belief of the local practitioners.