Plants used for the treatment of Rheumatism by the Bhoxa tribe of Dis-
trict Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Jyotsana SHARMA, R. M. PAINULI
Department of Botany, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University), Srinagar Garhwal- 246 174, Uttarakhand
India
Article History: Received 18th May 2011, Revised 28th May 2011, Accepted 6th June 2011.
Abstract: In the present investigation an attempt has been made to explore traditional medicinal knowledge of plant spe-cies used against rheumatism by the Bhoxa tribe of district Dehradun. An ethnobotanical survey was carried out amongthe tribal people in all seasons to collect the relevant information about the medicinal uses of wild plants. Frequent fieldtrips were made for the collection of plant specimens and information from traditional healers through questionnaire andinterviews. The plant species used against rheumatism have been enumerated in the present paper and each species hasbeen provided with scientific name, local name and crude drug preparation (as per details provided by the folklore. It wasobserved that the Bhoxa tribe used 22 wild plant species belonging to 19 families as a remedy for Rheumatism.
Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Traditional knowledge; Bhoxa tribe; Rheumatism.
Introduction
The word rheumatism is derived from theGreek word 'rheuma', which means swelling.Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting thejoints and connective tissue. Rheumatism is cha-racterized by the symptoms of inflammation -redness, heat, swelling and pain, fever, intensesoreness, swelling, stiffness of the affected mus-cles, pain in eyes, loss of sleep and improperurination. About 1% of the world's population isafflicted by rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatic dis-order is commonly found in middle aged andelderly people, it also involves problems in theinternal organs, such as heart, skin, kidneys andlungs. It is found in both men and women. Gen-erally women are three times more affected by itthan men. A vast number of traditional herbalremedies are recommended for rheumatism indifferent parts of the world.
The study of traditional knowledge of plantsamong tribal communities is an important aspectof ethnobotanical research. The tribal peoplesthroughout the world, have developed their owncultures, customs, religious rites, taboos, le-gends and myths, medicine, food, etc. They arethe storehouse of accumulated experience and of
knowledge about the native vegetation. The tra-ditional knowledge is an important natural toolto facilitate development process in cost-effective and sustainable ways. It governs al-most all important productive resource sectorsand revolves around traditional values of re-source used by the people of remote localities(Gadgil et al. 1993; Samal et al. 2004). Tradi-tional medical practices are an important part ofthe tribal healthcare system in the developingworld (Sheldon et al. 1997). During the last fewdecades there has been an increasing interest inthe study of medicinal plants and their indigen-ous uses in different parts of the world. Docu-mentation of such indigenous knowledge is es-sential for the conservation and utilization ofbiological resources (Luoga et al. 2000). In dif-ferent societies throughout the globe medicinalplants makes the base of primary healthcare sys-tem and about 85% of traditional medicine arederived from plants (Fransworth 1988). In Indiaethnomedicinal investigations have been con-ducted from various rural and remote areas,where the inhabitants are still dependent on her-bal medicines for their primary healthcare.
The Bhoxa tribe is one of the importantcommunities scattered in different districts of
Sub-Himalayan belt of Uttarakhand state. Theystill practice age old agricultural methods exceptsome rich counterparts of their community whohave modern facilities. Their economy is mainlybased on the agriculture. The Bhoxas inhabitingforest areas of the region are dependent on for-est products for their food and other necessarythings vital for their daily needs. Consideringthe importance of herbal medicines, the presentstudy was undertaken in the rural areas of De-hradun district, Uttarakhand inhabited by theBhoxa tribe. The present communication tries tohighlight the traditional preparations used forthe treatment of rheumatism by the Bhoxa tribeof Dehradun district.
Study Area
The present study was made among theBhoxa tribe of Dehradun district. The district inthe west is bordered by Sirmaur district of Hi-machal Pradesh and the Tons and Yamuna riv-ers, in the north and northwest it borders on thedistrict of Uttarkashi and in the east by districtTehri and Pauri. In the south are Haridwar andUttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district. It is locatedbetween latitudes 29 °58' N and 31°2' N andlongitudes 77° 34' E and 78° 18'E and covers anarea of about 300 km2. The climate of Dehradundistrict varies from tropical to temperate de-pending upon the elevational gradient.
Methodology
An ethnobotanical survey was undertakento collect information from the Bhoxa tribe onthe use of medicinal plants in Dehradun districtof Uttarakhand. The survey was made duringMarch 2009 to October 2010 and the informa-tion was taken on the basis of personal inter-views with traditional healers, tribal doctors andold women of different age groups in the socie-ty. The information was collected with the helpof questionnaire. The questionnaire containname of plant prescribed, part of the plant used,detailed information about mode of preparation(i.e., decoction, paste, powder and juice), formof usage either fresh or dried and method ofadministration. The information was further ve-rified by cross checking with other knowledgea-
ble person of the study area. The plant speci-mens were brought to laboratory and identifiedwith the help of pertinent flora (Babu 1977;Gaur 1999). These samples were matched withthe specimens housed in Garhwal UniversityHerbarium (GUH) Srinagar, Garhwal, the Her-barium of Botanical Survey of India, Dehradun(BSD) and the herbarium of Forest ResearchInstitute, Dehradun (DD). Voucher specimenswith whom the information are based, depositedin the Herbarium (GUH), following usual me-thods of preparation and preservation (Jain andRao 1977; Rao and Sharma 1990; Singh andSubramaniam 2008; Gaur 2009).
Results
The present investigation represents 22 plantspecies belonging to 19 families used as a reme-dy for rheumatism by Bhoxa tribe. The plantspecies are arranged alphabetically with theirbotanical name followed with vernacular names,family of the plant, and their utilization.
1. Ajuga bracteosa Wallich ex Benth. (Lamia-ceae) ‘Neelkanthi’ The decoction of wholeplant (about 2-3 teaspoonful) is administeredorally thrice a day in treatment of rheumat-ism (Figure 1).
2. Argemone mexicana L. (Papaveraceae) ‘Pi-li Katili’ The seed oil is applied externallyon affected parts of rheumatism (Figure 2).
3. Bridelia retusa (L.) Sprengel (Euphorbia-ceae) ‘Khaja’ Stem bark is pounded, mixedwith mustard oil and applied externally totreat rheumatism.
4. Cassia fistula L. (Caesalpiniaceae)‘Amaltas’ The paste of young leaves is ap-plied externally on rheumatic organ of thebody (Figure 3).
5. Celastrus paniculatus Willd. (Celastraceae)‘Kagni’ The oil extracted from seeds is usedfor massaging in rheumatism and joint pain.
6. Cissampelos pareira L. (Menispermaceae)‘Jaljamini’ The paste of leaves is appliedexternally in rheumatic pain.
7. Costus speciosus (Koenig ex Retz.) J.E.Smith. (Zinziberaceae) ‘Keu’ The roots are
grounded, mixed with mustard oil and madeinto paste, this paste is applied externally toget relief from rheumatism.
8. Crataeva adansonii Jacobs (Capparaceae)‘Baana’ The leaf paste is applied externallyas a remedy for rheumatism.
9. Cryptrolepis buchananii Roemer &Schultes (Asclepiadaceae) ‘Dhudi ’The de-coction of bark is orally given to treat rheu-matic pain and paste of leaves is applied ex-ternally for the same.
10. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon (Poaceae)‘Dubghass/Dubar’ The plant paste is ap-plied externally in rheumatism.
11. Gloriosa superba L. (Liliaceae)‘Agnisika/Karihari’ The roots are crushed,fried in mustard oil and made into paste; thispaste is used externally for massaging inrheumatism.
12. Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planchon(Ulmaceae) ‘Papri’ The oil of seeds is usedfor massaging in rheumatism.
13. Ipomoea carnea Jacquin (Convolvulaceae)‘Behaya ’The leaf paste is applied externallyin rheumatic area of the body.
14. Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) ‘Ban-arandi’ The oil of seeds is used externally inrheumatism (Figure 4).
15. Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) ‘Bai-kan’The seeds decoction (3 teaspoonful) isused internally in treatment of rheumatism(Figure 5).
16. Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae)‘Karela’ The infusion of fruits (2-3 teas-poonful) is used internally in treatment ofrheumatism.
17. Prunus persica (L.) Batsch (Rosaceae)‘Aaru’ The oil extracted from seeds is effec-tive externally for massaging in rheumatism.
18. Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae)‘Arandi’ The infusion of roots is taken withsugar in treatment of rheumatism. The oil ofseeds is used for massaging in rheumatism.
19. Semecarpus anacardium L. f. (Anacardia-ceae) ‘Bhilao’ The oil of seeds is appliedexternally in rheumatism.
20. Trewia nudiflora L. (Euphorbiaceae) ‘Gu-tel’ The decoction of roots (4 teaspoonful) isprescribed internally as a remedy for rheu-matism.
21. Vitex negundo L. (Verbenaceae)‘Sambhalu’ The decoction of roots (2-3teaspoonful) is prescribed for rheumatism(Figure 6).
22. Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz. (Lyrtha-ceae) ‘Dhaudi’ The infusion of roots (3teaspoonful) is used internally to treat rheu-matism.
Discussion
The present survey indicated that the folkmedicines are quite prevalent among the Bhoxatribe of the study area. The investigation re-vealed that, the traditional healers used 22 spe-cies of plants belonging to 19 families for thetreatment of rheumatism. The study showed thetribal people in the different parts of district De-hradun still depend on medicinal plants for pri-mary healthcare. It was found that most of theherbal preparations are used externally for mas-saging (66 %) while some other are adminis-tered orally (33 %). In some cases such as inCryptolepis buchananii and Ricinus communisthe traditional medicine made from differentpart of a single plant is used as both externallyand internally. The different parts of plants areused for the preparation of medicine, but themost frequently used part is seed (32 %), fol-lowed by roots (24 %), leaves (20 %), bark (12%), whole plant (8 %) and fruits (4 %). Themost common forms of herbal preparations arepaste (53 %), oil (21 %), decoction (15 %) andinfusion (9 %).
The information on medicinal plants ob-tained from the tribal communities is useful forresearches in field of pharmacology, in clinicaland biological studies. It important to recognizethe role of the traditional health care practicesfor future sustainable development. Ethnomedi-cinal study of tribal people can bring out many
more efficient herbal drugs. Therefore effortsshould be made for the documentation of suchvaluable knowledge for future perspectives. Atpresent time, many of the important plant spe-cies are on the verge of depletion, therefore suchtype of studies will be important for future pros-
pects. Perusal of literature indicates that this partof Sub-Himalayan tract inhabitated by Bhoxatribe is less studied on this aspect, therefore,concertive efforts have been made to record theinformation on plants used as herbal remediesfor the treatment of rheumatism.
Authors wish to express their gratitude to-wards the tribal people and the locals of the areafor their active collaboration during field stu-dies. Authors are also thankful to Prof. R.D.Gaur, Department of Botany, Srinagar Garhwal,for providing necessary help and guidance.
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