Ethno-Botanical Study of Medicinal Plants Used by Tribes in the Dindori District of Madhya Pradesh, India

SINCE early civilization, tribes of Central India have been using plant extracts as traditional medicine. The objective of our study was to catalogue the ethno-medicinal plants whose diverse morphological parts are used by the tribal communities belonging to Shahpura, Dindori and Mehadwani blocks of Dindori district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Questionnaires were provided and Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the local tribal community. In our study, 41 plant species belonging to 36 genera and 25 families have been reported for various medicinal and therapeutic uses. These plant species were used to treat conditions such as respiratory, digestive and skin ailments. Leaves were found to be the most used part of the plant, and decoctions were the most common preparations used for treatment. Upon processing the data, various indices were as follows: Use Value was ranging from 0.01 to 0.13; ; Relative Importance Index ranged from 93.75 to 16.25 and Informant Consensus Factor range was 0.33 to 0.96. These indices are important to understand the efficacy of diverse medicinal plants used by tribes in the Dindori district, and may contribute to the development of new plant-based drugs.