Ethnobotany and Phytochemistry of Medicinal Plants of Chuhar Valley of Himachal Pradesh India

Abstract

In the Chuhar Valley of Himachal Pradesh, local communities utilize native herbs to treat various health issues. However, this valuable knowledge remains undocumented scientifically, and the traditional methods and practices are disappearing with the loss of these healers. Therefore, present study underscores the urgent need to protect and preserve this traditional knowledge. In the specified study area, a total of 186 informants (130 males and 56 females) from 62 villages, 14 panchayat, 2 development blocks (Baijnath and Drang), and 2 districts (Mandi and Kangra) were interviewed. They were using a total of 108 plants from 36 families and 98 genera for the ethnomedicinal purposes, of which 102 were angiosperm, 3 gymnosperm, and 3 pteridophyte. Various ailments were standardized and categorized according to the 2024 version of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-3) categories by the World Health Organization (WHO). The collected data was statistically analyzed using three statistical tools: Use Value (UV), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and Fidelity Level Percentage (FL%). The most important plants of the study site on the basis of use-value were Taxus baccata L. (1.09), Berberis aristata L. (1.06), Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. (1.02) and Polygonum amplexicaule D.Don (1.00) respectively.Whereas, the following plants listed under endangered species were Ginkgo biloba, Picrorhiza kurroa, Taxus baccata and Zanthoxylum arnatum respectively. The second objective of present study was to analyse phytochemicals of some selected multi-remedial plants on basis high use-value viz., Taxus baccata, Picrorhiza kurroa, Berberis aristata and Polygonum amplexicaule respectively. The estimation of taxol was performed in aerial and underground part of medicinal plant Taxus baccata through UPLC system. The various other polyphenols like caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, pyrocatechinic acid, quercetin, rutin, vanillic acid, EGCG, ferulic acid and syringic acid did not yield any detection in sample.