Indigenous Uses of Economically and Commercially important Medicinal Plants Use to Cure Gynecological Diseases by Ethnic People of Bodmalla Village, Almora District of Western Himalaya, India

Abstract

Plants have been used as a source of medicines from ancient times to the present day. Initially this constituted folk or ethno medicine practiced in India, China, Middle East, Africa and South America. Later considerable amounts of this indigenous knowledge was formulated, documented and eventually incorporated into organized systems of medicines viz., Ayurveda, Yunani and Siddha [10]. A large number of medicinal plants of great commercial value grow abundantly in the study area.Findings are based on a field survey of the Bodmalla village of district of Almora, Uttarakhand to identify plants of medicinal value and the indigenous uses of 10 medicinal plants species which are frequently used by the local healers of the village to cure various gynecological ailments which forms one of the major sources of their livelihood.

Keywords:Almora district, Ethno-medicine, Indigenous uses, Livelihood