Ethnobotanical uses of home garden species around Lalitpur district, Nepal
Rashma Maharjan, Ramila Thapa, Surendra Nagarkoti, Pratik Sapkota
Abstract
Plants are used for its medicinal purposes since ancient time. Most of the plants that are found in our locality are very important for human health care. These plants are still used as traditional medicine for various diseases in rural areas: however in urban area these species are treated as weeds. Most of the people are unaware about the ethno botanical use of these locally available species. This study reveals home garden species have lots of ethno-botanical uses. This paper helps to acquire knowledge about ethno botanical and ethno medicinal use of locally available species found in Lalitpur district. We have collected the data from 30 houses having kitchen gardens and listed 50 different species which are generally treated as weeds. Only few species were used by local people for its medicinal purpose as they don’t have knowledge about their medicinal value. Some of these species have toxic qualities but the toxicity is overbalanced by its health benefits. These species should be further tested for its ethno botanical properties and utilized after purification. The abundance of these species is declining very rapidly due to developmental activities and sparse distribution.
Keywords: Medicinal plants, traditional, locally available, ethno medicine
Rashma Maharjan, Ramila Thapa, Surendra Nagarkoti, Pratik Sapkota
Abstract
Plants are used for its medicinal purposes since ancient time. Most of the plants that are found in our locality are very important for human health care. These plants are still used as traditional medicine for various diseases in rural areas: however in urban area these species are treated as weeds. Most of the people are unaware about the ethno botanical use of these locally available species. This study reveals home garden species have lots of ethno-botanical uses. This paper helps to acquire knowledge about ethno botanical and ethno medicinal use of locally available species found in Lalitpur district. We have collected the data from 30 houses having kitchen gardens and listed 50 different species which are generally treated as weeds. Only few species were used by local people for its medicinal purpose as they don’t have knowledge about their medicinal value. Some of these species have toxic qualities but the toxicity is overbalanced by its health benefits. These species should be further tested for its ethno botanical properties and utilized after purification. The abundance of these species is declining very rapidly due to developmental activities and sparse distribution.
Keywords: Medicinal plants, traditional, locally available, ethno medicine
