ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2021 | Volume
: 5 | Issue : 4 | Page : 84--88
A case study of medicinal plants and their uses by the Sundar Haraicha Nagarpalika community in Morang District, East Nepal
Honey Raj Mandal1, Shambhu Katel1, Shulov Baidhya2, Sujata Kattel1, Amrit Katuwal1,
1 G.P. Koirala College of Agriculture and Research Centre (GPCAR), Morang, Nepal
2 Himalayan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kirtipur, Nepal
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Honey Raj Mandal
G.P. Koirala College of Agriculture and Research Centre, Gothgaun, Morang
Nepal
Abstract
Background: Nepal is considered as a staple area for wild as well as local medicinal plants. Traditional botanical medicine is the primary mode of health care for most of the people. Several case studies were conducted across the country but some of them were unexposed. So such studies were conducted in order to reveal the importance of locally available medicinal plant species which leads to the discovery of useful drugs and socio-economic development of the community. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the importance of each plant species and reveal the purposes to use of the medicinal plants by the local community. Materials and methods: Data was collected in the Morang district of East Nepal. Informal meetings, group discussion, participants observations and schedule surveys were primary sources of data collection. A total of 60 respondents were questioned through an interview by the semi structured English language questionnaire. Result: A total of 60 respondents were recorded. 37 species of medicinal plants belonging to 30 families and 35 genera were documented. The majority of them were herbs and these herbs were able to cure fever, headache, stomachache, cuts and wounds, snake bite etc. Additionally, 26% of medicinal plants are used to treat ailment in the peoples, 48% for both animals and humans, and 25% for marketing. Conclusion: Through this case study, it leads to discovering high priority medicinal plants. Similarly, high potential for the establishment of crude drugs and socio-economic development.
How to cite this article:
Mandal HR, Katel S, Baidhya S, Kattel S, Katuwal A. A case study of medicinal plants and their uses by the Sundar Haraicha Nagarpalika community in Morang District, East Nepal.Matrix Sci Pharma 2021;5:84-88
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How to cite this URL:
Mandal HR, Katel S, Baidhya S, Kattel S, Katuwal A. A case study of medicinal plants and their uses by the Sundar Haraicha Nagarpalika community in Morang District, East Nepal. Matrix Sci Pharma [serial online] 2021 [cited 2023 Mar 28 ];5:84-88
Available from: https://www.matrixscipharma.org/text.asp?2021/5/4/84/343597 |
Full Text
Introduction
Nepal offers a wide range of meteorological and geographical conditions. As a result, it has a high floral richness, with over 6500 flowering plants and ferns, 2000 of which are regularly employed in traditional. Nepal is ranked 9th in terms of floral diversity.[1] People mostly use medicinal plants and other natural products for their chemical and pharmacological properties.[2] Medicinal plants played an essential part in agronomy and pharmacy throughout the 18th and 19th centuries since they provided raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry and were used as a medicine on a daily basis.[3] People mostly use medicinal plants and other natural products for their chemical and pharmacological properties.[3]
The majority of the medications are made from plants that have been obtained in the wild.[4] Herbal medicine is widely used for medical treatment in many underdeveloped countries.[5] Leaf, seed, bark, stem, flower, root, rhizome, tuber, stem bark, root bark, peel, and other therapeutic portions of medicinal plants are referred to as phytoplants. Medicinal plants are antioxidant-rich substances that contain phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins, nitrogen compounds, and terpenoids and are utilized mostly for primary health care. Anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, antiatherosclerotic, antibacterial, and antiviral activities are all present in them.[6] The careful research and exploitation of plants that grow in the mountainous and Himalayan regions provide job opportunities for the local communities to promote social and economic growth.
Plants were once solely used in local areas, but now, they are commercialized and exported to various parts of the world, where they are in high demand.[7] Many medicinal plants can be found in forests, fields, our backyards, and even our gardens, but due to the loss of plant habitat caused by rapid urbanization and the passing of elderly traditional healers without knowledge transfer to the next generation, knowledge of their ethnobotanical uses is fading.[8] People in the city and the terai, who lack access to well-equipped hospitals and pharmacies, rely entirely on chemical medications, which have side effects. The purpose of this research is to learn about the medicinal plants that can be found in Nepal's Eastern Terai and how they can be used to treat a variety of health conditions at home.
Description of the area and people
Sundar Haraicha Nagarpalika is located in the Morang district of Province 1 in Nepal's eastern region [Figure 1]. Morang's latitude and longitude are 26.668203° N and 87.385310° E, respectively. It is bordered on the south by Bihar, India, on the east by Jhapa, on the north by Dhankuta and Panchthar, and on the west by Sunsari. The Sundar Haraicha Nagarpalika covers an area of 110 km2 and has 12 wards. Ward number: 2, ward number: 7, ward number: 8, ward number: 9, ward number: 11, and several wards of the Nagarpalika were connected with Mahendra highway which were all designated as research areas. The vegetation scenario is dominated by Sal forest, with other plant species thrown in for good measure: Sal (Shorea robusta), Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), Cassia fistula, Dillenia pentagyna, Alnus nepalensis, Pinus roxburghii, and other trees commonly found in the forest. The average yearly temperatures are maximum 30.6°C and minimum 14.6°C, respectively. Sundar Haraicha Municipality has an estimated population of 80,518 people, according to census 2068 B. S. People speak Nepali, although they also speak Maithili, Tharu, Rajbanshi, Limbu, and other languages. We discovered through our survey that the majority of individuals engage in agriculture by growing rice, maize, and jute. They are also involved in the raising of livestock. In addition, several residents in the area began farming by clearing woodland. The municipality is home to a wide variety of plant species. As a result, the most important medicinal herbs utilized by local people were surveyed, as well as primary data and other sources of information.{Figure 1}
Data collection methods
The approval of the municipality, community, and individual levels was secured prior to conducting the survey activity into an action. To all of the relevant authorities, we lay out the entire objective and goal of our survey. Informal meetings, group discussions, participant observation, and scheduled surveys were the primary sources of data collecting after sufficient consent was obtained. We paved our way using a technique known as random sampling. With the assistance of a local assistant, a total of 60 respondents were questioned. During the interviews with participants, a semi-structured English language questionnaire was translated into Nepali [Figure 2] and [Figure 3]. The questions were broken down into two areas: A sociodemographic description of the participants and the primary topic portions. For descriptive analysis, Microsoft Excel 2016 and IBM SPSS version 26 were used. IBM SPSS is used to create pie charts and bar graphs.{Figure 2}{Figure 3}
Discussion of the Findings
Characteristics of the socioeconomic system
The characteristics of the respondents were obtained and documented during face-to-face interviews with the survey participants, and data were collected. A total of 60 houses were chosen at random for this site survey, with 60% of the males (36), and 40% of the females (24), being between the ages of 20 and 90. This area has a literacy rate of 73.3%, with 26.7% being illiterate. Hinduism, which is practiced by 90% of the people, is the most common ethnicity in this area, followed by Muslim and Buddhist. The vast majority of those employed in agriculture.
Application of medicinal plants
According to this investigation, roughly 95% of diseases, such as cuts, burns, wounds, fever, and the common cold, can be treated if used appropriately. According to the findings of this survey, around 26% of medicinal plants are used to treat ailments in people, 48% for both animals and humans, and 25% for marketing purposes. The majority of individuals considered medicinal plants to be useful for minor ailments such as cuts, burns, wounds, fever, and the common cold, as well as more serious ailments such as typhoid, jaundice, tuberculosis, asthma, and heart trouble.
Medicinal plant marketing
There is no medicinal plant processing sector, and marketing facilities are scarce. Despite this, approximately 16.67% of people in that specific locality cultivate or farm medicinal plants for commercial purposes. They use their product in the treatment of various diseases and also supply raw materials to various pharmaceutical companies located in different parts of the country, such as Birgunj, Sunsari, and some parts of India via the Kakarvita border.
Medicinal plant diversity
The majority of plant species were discovered to be employed for several purposes, including human and animal cures as well as commercial uses. The majority of plant species are used to treat common colds, burns, coughs, wounds, fevers, and diarrhoea. Due to illiteracy, a lack of hospitals, and religious faith in therapeutic herbs, people developed a very positive attitude about them.
The site survey discovered a total of 37 medicinal plant species belonging to 30 families and 35 genera, with roots, rhizomes, tubers, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, pollen, and young shoots used for commercial purposes and different medicinal formulations for the treatment of cuts, worms, cough, gastrointestinal problems, and also for animal treatment. It was discovered that traditional healers were consulted for chest pain, menstruation disorders, eyes, and renal diseases.[9]
Understanding of medicinal herbs
As shown in [Table 1], the common name, local name, Botanical name, family, and uses are listed.{Table 1}
Conclusion
Many medicinal plants have been discovered at the study site, but due to a lack of education, training facilities, and a processing center, they are missing in identification, information about the medicinal plants' growth practices, and conservation. People believe in medical herbs because they are illiterate and have a religious belief in them. Medicinal plants, on the other hand, play an essential role in the pharmaceutical business since they produce raw materials. There are no Ayurveda centers or training programs in the area. People used medicinal plants based on their own beliefs, knowledge, and beliefs. They have faith in the wisdom of the elderly. As a result, a study is required in this field in order to improve these high-value medicinal plants, as well as the creation of a processing unit [Figure 4]. The government and other local organizations should support these ongoing actions as well as the dissemination of results.{Figure 4}
Declaration of the author
There are no conflicts of interest declared by the authors. All authors contributed equally to the creation of this work at all stages. Similarly, all authors gave their approval to the final version of the paper.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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