Ethnomedicinal Plants Used in Tharu Community, A Case Study of Rapti Sonari, Western Nepal: Ethnomedicinal Plants Used in Tharu Community

Shila Devi  Gharti; Pramod  Nag; Gyanu Thapa  Magar; Ankit Kumar Singh

doi:10.21276/pt.2024.1.2.8

Authors

Shila Devi Gharti Mahendra Multiple Campus Nepalgunj, Tribhuvan University- Nepal Author
Pramod Nag Mahendra Multiple Campus Nepalgunj, Tribhuvan University- Nepal Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4558-6417
Gyanu Thapa Magar Amrit Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3870-3791
Ankit Kumar Singh Tribhuvan University, Nepal Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7870-5930

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21276/pt.2024.1.2.8

Keywords:

Ethnomedicine, Medicinal Plants, Tharu Community, Ailments, Indigenous Knowledge

Abstract

Tharu is a tribal community residing tropical region of Nepal, growing crops, and practicing diverse natural remedies for curing human and livestock diseases since long. They have firm belief in the use of medicinal plants to treat ailments such as cough, common cold, fever, burn, wound, fracture, stomach-ache, headache, gastritis, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dysentery, and so on. The present study focused to document their traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants. Information was collected via survey and the focus group discussion (FGD). A detailed structured questionnaire was used for interview in order to document medicinal practices. A total of 44 local people aged between 20-80 years old were participated including 23 farmers, five local health workers, nine teachers, and one community head. Plant specimen was collected from nearby forest and agroecosystem with the help of local guide. Specimen were identified in laboratory with the help of experts, digital herbarium images and published literatures. Frequency of citation (FC) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) were calculated for each plant species. Altogether 30 plant species including wild and cultivated species, belonging to 24 families were documented. The Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) was highest for Ocimum tenuiflorum (0.91) followed by Citrus aurantiifolia (0.89), and Zingiber officinale (0.77). The people in Tharu community are practicing their ethnic traditional practices for curing different ailments with the help of locally available plants. Their ethnic knowledge differed slightly than that of other ethnic community and such practices seems less familiar among youngers which may indicate the possible threat to these knowledges in near future.

Author Biographies

Shila Devi Gharti, Mahendra Multiple Campus Nepalgunj, Tribhuvan University- Nepal

Research Scholar, Department of Botany Mahendra Multiple Campus, Nepalgunj
Pramod Nag, Mahendra Multiple Campus Nepalgunj, Tribhuvan University- Nepal

Assistant Professor & Head of the Department
Gyanu Thapa Magar, Amrit Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal

Assistant Professor (Amrit Campus Lainchaur- Kathmnadu)
Ankit Kumar Singh, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Phd Scholar Central department of Zoology, Kirtipur Kathmandu, Nepal

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