No such study has been conducted previously in this area, thus it will assist in providing valuable information to the ethnomedicinal research field, and such information is expected to be useful in the discovery of drugs . Such studies have been done indifferent parts of the world, including Pakistan, Nepal, Africa, America, Europe, Poland, Argentina, Australia, Iran, New Zealand, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, as well as different parts of South, North and East India. The declining rate of ethnomedicinal knowledge amongst younger generations was found to be a common problem in all the reported countries . As the economic condition of people living in rural areas is improving day-by-day, people are becoming less dependent on traditional medicinal practices, thus knowledge in the use of medicinal plants is also diminishing .
Therefore, it is important to document ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants before it vanishes completelyIt was found that the inhabitants of the study area used different plant species for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The most reported diseases from this study area, include coughs, colds, skin infections, stomach disorders, oral diseases, and diarrhea. Data about traditional medicinal uses of plants were collected from 88 informants, including 57 males and 31 females. The local communities residing in the study area were highly dependent on forest produce to fulfil their daily requirements of fuel, food, fodder, shelter, and medicines. After noting the demographic data and literacy rate of the inhabitants, it was found that aged people possessed an immense knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants compared to the younger generation. The rural people of the study area used 110 plant species from 102 genera belonging to 57 families for ethnomedicinal purposes. In this study, it was found that Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae were the most reported families. The Rosaceae and Asteraceae families had 12 plant species each, followed by the Lamiaceae family with 6 plant species. The Apiaceae, Pinaceae, Brassicaceae, and Solanaceae families each contributed 3 plant species, while the Fabaceae, Ranunculaceae and Polygonaceae families each contributed 4 plant species.
The Amaranthaceae, Berberidaceae, Oxalidaceae, Poaceae, Primulaceae, Pteridaceae, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Utricaceae contributed 2 species .Plants remain necessary for people’s well-being, as they provide a significant number of traditional and modern treatments or techniques used in healthcare. Today, the knowledge of wild plants can play an important role worldwide, not only because of their therapeutic properties, but also because they can represent a source of innovative products in many sectors, such as defense of plants from pest disease, bio-preservatives, nutraceuticals, functional foods, cosmetics, and agrochemical industries .The wild plants are used by the inhabitants of the state for the treatment of diseases related to human beings.These include ease of access, therapeutic efficacy, and a low cost of health services . Medicinal plants are the primary source of traditional medicine for people living in backward or remote areas of developing countries .Traditional healers have been found to play an essential part in rural people’s primary health care system, as healthcare in these regions treat those with limited affordability and access to modern medication. Plants have always been important to indigenous communities as they provide food, shelter, and fodder.
Plants contain a variety of pharmacologically active chemical compounds which are the reason for their medicinal potential .The bioactive substances such as flavonoids, lignin, coumarins, alkaloids, sterols, glycosides, and terpenoids, present in these ethnomedicinal plant species, might contribute to their therapeutic activities . For example, alkaloids, glycosides, rumicin, nepalin, nepodin, and rumicin in R. hastatus, flavonoids, phenolic acids, protocatechuic acid, fatty acids, and carbohydrates in S. nigrum . Taraxacin, taraxacerine, cerylalcohol, lactuce-roltaraxacin, choline, inulin, tannin, etereal oil, vitamin C, xanthophylls, potassium and vitamin A in T. offificinale . Alkaloids, amino acids, carbohydrates, protein polymer, carotenoids, and saponins in U. dioica , Curculigenin in C. orchioides . All of these compounds are responsible for their bioactivity, such as antibacterial, antidiabetic, wound healing, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties . The essential oil extracted from the aerial part of A. vestita is very well-known for its anti-inflammatory properties . The cannabinoids in C. sativa have anti-inflammatory properties , and the compounds extracted from the parts of C. bursa-pastoris confirm its anti-inflammatory properties .