Author(s):

Ashish Singh, Munesh Kumar, Harpal Singh and Nazir Pala

Abstract: Indigenous traditional knowledge of ethno-medicinal plant resources is socially accepted among communities throughout the globe. In the present study, evidence based documentation of ethno-medicinal plant species along with their utilization pattern was done for three major diseases (cancer, diabetics and heart diseases) affecting human health. The study conducted in six villages near Srinagar valley of Garhwal Himalaya and eight villages in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The information regarding the evidence based traditional knowledge; uses of plants, local names, parts used, purposes, modes of use, curative properties were documented through interviews and discussions with all informants. The information was collected through a well-structured questionnaire. The information revealed that people from both the places use 53 species of medicinal plants to cure these three diseases. These 53 plants belonging to 33 families with dominant contribution of family Fabaceae. In the life form the dominant contribution was of herbs followed by trees and shrubs<strong>.</strong> Among the diseases, the highest consensus was reported for cancer (0.75) followed by diabetes (0.50) and heart diseases (0.33). The study concluded that plant species are highly valuable for treating important diseases and therefore, conservation and sustainable utilization of these ethnobotanical resources are essential.

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