Ethnobotanical Exploration of Wild Plants for The Treatment of Fever in Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

An ethno-botanical survey was conducted to identify the medicinal plants in Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh, concerned the treatment of fever. The informants of rural area were intervened through semi-structured questionnaire. 1366 citations were made for 73 plant species belonging to 31 families for the treatment of fever including malaria, typhoid, Dengue, Chikungunya and cold fever. Among them most of the plants were herbs (46%) followed by shrubs (29%), trees (20%), climbers (5%). In the study, families with maximum number of species used in the treatment of fever comprises, Lamiaceae (12 Species), Malvaceae (6species), Fabaceae, Solanaceae and Acanthaceae (5 species), Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae (4species), Menispermaceae, Rutaceae (3 species), Anacardiaceae, Capparaceae, Meliaceae, and Oxalidaceae (2 species). The most common mode of administration is Decoction followed by Powder and others. On the basis of Use reports (citations) and Citation Frequency, most important and frequently used species are Tinospora cordifolia, Swertia chirayata, Viola serpense, Withania somnifera, Adhatoda vasica, Azadirachta indica, Achyranthes aspera, Asparagus racemosus, Achyranthes bidentata, Murraya koenigii, Solanum nigrum, Aegle marmelos, Artemisia scoparia, Colebrookea oppositifolia, Pogostemon benghalensis, Ocimum basilicum, Acorus calamus, Fumaria indica, Aerva sanguinolenta.