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India is rich in floristic as well as ethnic diversity. In India, 68 million people belonging to 227 ethnic groups and comprising 573 tribal communities are spread over 19% of the total area of the nation. There are 45,000 species of wild plants out of which 9,500 species are ethnobotanically important species. Of these, 7,500 species are in medicinal use for indigenous health practices. Ethnobotanical work done in India in the last few decades has led to the publication of inventories and documentation of plants and their products used by the aboriginals for various purposes.
Ethnobotanical studies in different regions and pertaining to different tribes of India were taken up; which served as an introduction to Indian ethnobotany. Many books have been written on medicinal and ethnomedicinal plants of India, but those books could not fulfil all the requirements of research scholars and readers. The present book is focused on ethnomedicinal plants of India and deals with 549 plants used by the tribal communities in India for curing their ailments. The text given on each plant species includes botanical names followed by vernacular names, a taxonomic description, distribution, chemical constituents, biological activities, folk uses and uses in literature. The source of folk uses is cited. Earlier well-known uses of the species are also mentioned.
The present work provides basic information to pharmaceutical industries and various other organizations working on the traditional medicine system. The information on all potential medicinal plants based on folk claims and data recorded from the literature have been incorporated so that the natural resources may be utilized as an alternative source of drugs for the welfare of mankind without affecting the natural ecosystem. This book will help in generating an interest in ethnomedicinal plants of India. This book is an effort to put together the vast variety of ethnomedicinal plants used in the Indian system of traditional medicine.
