Prevalence Survey of Medicinal Plants Found in Ashi Village of Gujarat State

Abstract

Medicinal plants’ survey is essential to plot the distribution of medicinally useful plants in a given area. Due to higher human activity and lack of awareness about medicinal plants, many medicinal species are left to survive on their own on hedges, road sides and waste places. Public awareness about the medicinal use of commonly available plants found in the vicinity will aid in conservation of native medicinal plants. So, survey was conducted under the promotion of national service scheme (NSS) to identify and trace out the distribution of medicinally useful plants which grow in Ashi village as weeds, along the road side including the hedges and waste places. Ashi village is located in Petlad taluka of Anand district in Gujarat, India. The village has an elevation/altitude 32 m above sea level with presence of medium and deep clay black soil and loamy sand (Goradu) soil. The survey was designed to document plant species along with their habit, occurrence and incidence for understanding their distribution. In this survey, 76 plant species from 37 families were identified, out of which medicinal documentation of 75 plants species (98.68%) could be traced directly in Nighantu (lexicons of Ayurveda). Looking at the climatic condition and soil type of Ashi village one can conclude that these medicinal plants are indigenous to this area and hence can be easily cultivated in cost effective manner. Hence, cultivation of these medicinal plants which are in demand can be encouraged to meet the raw material needs of nearby pharmacies and to serve as a household medicine for minor ailments.

Keywords: Ashi village, Anand district, medicinal plants surveys

Cite this Article

Bipin Vithal Sawant, Somaraj Madhukar Kharche, Dilip Khemji Jani. Prevalence Survey of Medicinal Plants Found in Ashi Village of Gujarat State. Research and Reviews: A Journal of Ayurvedic Science, Yoga and Naturopathy. 2016; 3(3): 1–8p.