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Indigenous Knowledge on the Utilization of Medicinal Plants by the Sonowal Kachari Tribe of Dibrugarh District in Assam, North-East India

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh - 786004, Assam, INDIA

Int. Res. J. Biological Sci., Volume 2, Issue (4), Pages 44-50, April,10 (2013)

Abstract

In the present study, an attempt has been made to explore the diversity of IKS pertaining to utilization of medicinal plants by the Sonowal Kachari tribe of Dibrugarh district in Assam, NE India. Intensive field work was conducted in 03 Sonowal Kachari inhabited villages viz. Boiragimath Kachari gaon, Duliabam and Paroliguri during 2012. Data collection was done through extensive personal interviews, in-depth discussions and participant observation method. A total of 33 species of medicinal plants belonging to 29 families were recorded. The most dominant plant family is Leguminosae; leaves are found to be the most frequently used plant part for medicine preparation; the most common method of medicine preparation is paste; and shrub is the dominant category of the plants. Utilization of medicinal plants is an important IK tradition of the Sonowal Kacharis and further phyto and pharmaco-chemical investigations of their ethno-medical remedies may lead to the discovery of new drugs to fight human diseases.

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