Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 7(4), pp.

148-154, 25 January, 2013

Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR
DOI: 10.5897/JMPR12.599
ISSN 1996-0875 ©2013 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Informants’ consensus on ethnomedicinal plants in

Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary of Indian Himalayas
Jahangeer A. Bhat, Munesh Kumar*, A. K. Negi and N. P. Todaria
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal-246174, Uttarakhand, India.
Accepted 31 October, 2012

The present study was carried out in the protected area of Greater Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India. The
study was carried out to understand the consensus on medicinal plants by inhabitants of Kedarnath
Wildlife Sanctuary. The study documented 21 plant species that are used medicinally in 17 ailment
categories. Out of 21 plant species, 12 species were reported for a single ailment separately and 8
species were reported by informants for more than one ailment. The consensus of informants for the
roots and rhizomes were the most frequently used plant parts (68%). The plants which are under rare
list in IUCN Red List category observed in the study area are Picrorhiza kurrooa, Aconitium
hetrophyllum and Podophyllum hexandrum. The Consensus index factor (Fic) was found to be higher in
the Haematological illness category (1.00) followed by Dermatological and Ophthalmological category
which was (0.98).

Key words: Ethnomedicinal plants, consensus, informants, ailments, Himalaya.

INTRODUCTION

In India, of the 17,000 species of higher plants, 7500 are
known for medicinal uses (Shiva, 1996). The Charak
Samhita, an age-old written document on herbal therapy,
reports on the production of 340 herbal drugs and their
indigenous uses (Prajapati et al., 2003). Currently,
approximately 25% of drugs are derived from plants and
many others are synthetic analogues built on prototype
compounds isolated from plant species in modern
pharmacopoeia (Rao et al., 2004). From the very earliest
days of civilization, mankind has turned to plants for
healing, a tradition that has survived the arrival of modern
medicine and found new strength at the end of 20th
century (Sulivan and Shealy, 1997). Even today, 80% of
the world’s population relies on traditional plant medicine
(Singh, 2002; Azaizeh et al., 2003).
As elsewhere, in India too, the medicinal use of plants
has been practiced from aeons by various rural and tribal
communities through the systems of Ayurveda, Siddha
and Unani (Gadgil, 1996). So far about 8,000 species of
angiosperms, 44 species of gymnosperms and 600
species of pteridophytes have been reported in the Indian
*Corresponding author. E-mail: muneshmzu@yahoo.com.
Himalaya (Singh and Hajra, 1996), of these, 1,748
species are known as medicinal plants (Samant et al.,
1998). The state of Uttarakhand is a part of north-western
Himalaya and has a dense vegetation cover harboring a
vast range of medicinal plants (Singh et al., 2005). The
maximum species of medicinal plants have been reported
from Uttarakhand (Kala, 2004), followed by Sikkim and
North Bengal (Samant, et al., 1998).
The ongoing growing recognition of medicinal plants is
due to several reasons, including escalating faith in
herbal medicine. Allopathic medicines may cure a wide
range of diseases; however, their high prices and side-
effects are causing many people to return to herbal
medicines which have fewer side effects (Kala, 2005).
The instant rising demand of plant based drugs is
unfortunately creating heavy pressure on some selected
high-value medicinal plant populations in the wild due to
over-harvesting. Several of these medicinal plant species
have slow growth rates, low population densities and
narrow geographic ranges (Kala, 1998; Nautiyal et al.,
2002); therefore they are more prone to extinction
(Jablonski, 2004).
A great deal of traditional knowledge of the use of
various plant species is still intact with the indigenous
people and this fact is especially relevant with the

mountainous areas such as the Himalaya due to less
accessibility of terrain and comparatively slow rate of
development (Kala, 2002; Farooquee et al., 2004). The
documentation of invaluable indigenous knowledge about
medicinal plant species is assuming urgent priority due to
the recent controversies that have sprung up from the
illegal bio piracy (Heywood, 1995; Loreau and Oteng,
2006; Naranjo, 1995; Mukherjee, 2005; Utkarsh, 2001).
The precious indigenous knowledge when supplemented
and validated by the latest scientific insights, can offer
new holistic models of sustainable development that are
economically viable, environmentally benign and socially
acceptable (Shinwari and Gilani, 2003).
Since ages, through trial and error, people in the
Himalayan region have learned and practiced the
medicinal usage of plants growing in their close vicinity
for treating various ailments. Various studies have been
carried out to document the ethnomedicinal uses of plant
species growing in the region but the consensus of
people regarding the ethnomedicinal cure is completely
lacking. In this backdrop, the main objective of this study
was to fulfill knowledge gaps in the important area of bio-
cultural diversity and the paper presents an update on
plant parts used for various diseases with the consent of
inhabitants and status of the medicinal plants which is
directly relevant to the welfare of people living in far flung
and inaccessible areas of the Kedarnath wildlife
sanctuary.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) was established in 1972 and
is famous for the endangered Musk Deer. The KWLS is
geographically situated between 30° 25' to 30° 41' N, 78° 55' to 79°
22' E in the North-eastern part of Garhwal region of Uttarakhand
state, India. The present study was conducted in the
Madhmaheshwer area which is the interior part of Kedarnath
Wildlife Sanctuary (30° 35' 42" to 30° 38' 12" N, 79° 10' 00" to 79°
13' 00" E). The KWLS is one of the largest protected areas (975
km2) in the Western Himalaya located in Chamoli-Rudraprayag
districts of Uttarakhand (Singh and Rawat, 2011). It is bordered by
high mountain peaks; Kedarnath (6940 m), Mandani (6193 m) and
Chaukhamba (7068 m) and extensive alpine meadows that is,
Trijuginarayan, Kham, Mandani, Pandavshera, Manpai and
Bansinarayan in the north, and several dense broad leave oak
mixed forests in the south. The sanctuary covers a wide altitudinal
range from 1160 to 7068 m amsl (Quasin and Uniyal, 2010) and
has sizeable areas with limited human pressure. This area has
unique physiognomic, climatic and topographic conditions. This
region receives high precipitation and has diverse climatic
conditions; thus is very diverse in both flora and fauna and is
characterized by undulating topography, wide variation in the
altitude and rainfall, temperature and soil conditions. The KWLS is
not only rich in floristic composition and panoramic views but also
has enough scope for medicinal stock (Singh and Rawat, 2011).
Ethnomedicinal inventory and consensus survey
The methods employed during the study were designed with the
Bhat et al. 149
sole purpose of eliciting the precious wealth information on the
ethnomedicinal uses of plants practiced by the people residing in
KWLS. Information on plants with ethnomedicinal uses was
collected from informants living in villages, shepherds and seasonal
porters inside wildlife sanctuary. Field surveys and structured
interview schedules during 2009 to 2011 were used to elicit secret
knowledge from the people inhabiting inaccessible hinterland of the
region. Usually, the survey in the study area started with the
interview of elderly and experienced persons both men and women.
Besides this, the common people of the study area who themselves
have used these plant based medicines for health treatments were
interviewed to prove veracity of the curative features of plants. The
informants were randomly selected for the consensus and the
survey was conducted based on people’s opinion on the number of
plants used for a particular ailment.
Trotter and Logan (1986) developed a method based on the
concept of “informant consensus” for identifying potentially effective
medicinal plants. They compared the total case number for each
ailment (number of informants that reported a certain illness) with
the number of separate remedies for this ailment. The consensus
factor (Fic) gives the relationship between the “number of use-
reports in each category (nur) minus the number of taxa used (nt)
and the “number of use-reports in each category minus 1” (Heinrich
et al., 1998). Fic is thus calculated using the following formula:
Fic = nur - nt / nur - 1
The consensus factor (Fic) was used to test the homogeneity of the
informant(s) knowledge according to the methods described by
Trotter and Logan (1986). About 10% of the inhabitants were
interviewed about their dependence on the forest products,
especially for medicinal purposes and as the informants regularly
visited forests since their childhood so they were well versed with
the identification of plants and their use in various ailments. To
overcome the language hindrance, the interviews were conducted
in the local dialect to avoid communication problems.
During the interviews, structured questionnaires were used to
obtain information on medicinal plants, including the local name of
the plant, plant part used for curing and the diseases for which a
particular plant is used etc. In field, some ethnomedicinal plants
were also identified by the matching of plants with the pictorial field
guide (Murthy, 2011) and specimens of all plants were collected
and recorded following the standard methods (Jain and Rao, 1977).
Medicinal plant species were identified using standard literature
(Gaur, 1999; Naithani, 1984) and doubtful specimens were further
verified and submitted at the Herbaria of HNB Garhwal University
(Srinagar, Uttarakhand) and Herbaria of Botanical survey of India,
North Zone (Dehradun).
During this study, only 21 plants have been encountered in the
consensus of the people for the different medicinal uses. The plants
which were taken for the present study have also been listed earlier
by various organizations and scientists who described their status
in Himalaya (Table1). The total 17 ailments were categorized into
Ophthalmological, Haematological, Urological, General medicines,
Dermatological, General surgery and Gastroenterological.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognized
and reaffirmed the fundamental requirement of in situ
conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats in Article
8 (Singh, 2002). Protected areas are one of the most
widely accepted and practically approachable means of
biodiversity conservation over the world. One of the prime
objectives of the protected area is to assess and monitor
150 J. Med. Plants Res.

Table 1. Plant species with their local names and the part used in different ailments.

Family/Species Local name Plant part used Ailment

Apiaceae
Angelica glauca Edgew Choroo Roots Indigestion and Constipation

Asteraceae
Saussurea gossypiphora D. Don Hiyun Kauni Flower Skin diseases
Saussurea obvallata (DC.) Edgew. Brama Kamal Roots Cough

Berberidaceae
Berberis aristata DC. Kirmord Roots Eye irritation

Gentianceae
Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karsten Chiratay Leaves/seeds Fever and blood diseases

Morinaceae
Morina longifolia Wall. ex DC. Bees Kanora Roots Antiseptic (burns and wounds)

Oleaceae
Syringa emodi Wallich ex Royle. Ghiya Flower, seeds Fever

Orchidaceae
Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo Hat jari Roots Wounds and cuts
Gymnadenia orchidis Lindl. Salam Panja Roots Wounds

Podophyllaceae
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle. Bankakri Roots Antiseptic (wounds)

Polygonaceae
Rheum australe D. Don Archa Roots Wounds
Rheum moorcroftianum Royle Dolu Roots Dysentery and internal wounds

Ranunculaceae
Aconitium balfouri Stapf Metey Jad Leaves and roots Skin diseases (poisonous)
Aconitium hetrophyllum Wallich Atees Roots Fever,cough and stomachache

Rubiaceae
Eye diseases and to stop
Galium aparine L. Less kora Roots and Whole/plant
bleeding

Saxifragaceae
Kidney calculi, diarrhoea and
Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. Shelpadi Roots rhizome
fevers

Scrophulariaceae
Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. Kutki Roots Fever and stomachache

Urticaceae
Girardiana diversifolia (Link) Friis Kanthali Whole plant Abdoman pain and Indigestion

Valerianaceae
Nardostachys grandiflora DC. Masi Roots Heart Tonic
Nardostachys jatamansi DC. Jetmansi Roots rhizomes Hairfall

Zingiberaceae
Roscoea alpina Royle Garoor Panja Roots Urinary Diseases

diversity and dominance pattern at regular intervals so We documented 21 plant species that are used
that conservation status could be evaluated (Semwal et medicinally in 17 ailment categories. The twenty one (21)
al., 2007). plant species identified in this study represented sixteen

Figure 1. Percentage of plant parts used.
(16) families under seventeen (17) genera. Family
Ranunculaceae, Polygonaceae, Valerianaceae,
Orchidaceae and Asteraceae were represented with two
species each (Table 1). Out of 21 plant species, 12
species were reported for a single ailment separately and
8 species were reported by informants for more than one
ailment.
Singh and Rawat (2011) worked in the same area and
also reported that a single plant may be used for curing
more than one ailment. According to the present study,
the consensus of informants for the roots and root
rhizomes were the most frequently used plant parts
(68%) followed by the flower, leaves, seeds and whole
plants accounted for the (8%) each (Figure 1). Singh and
Rawat (2011) also reported that roots are the most used
plant parts (38%) although the percentage was lower
than our results (68%). According to Keter and Mutiso
(2012), the leaves are the most frequently used plant
parts (48%) followed by the stem bark (16%), roots and
root bark (10%) while the fruits, whole plant and aerial
parts accounted for less than 10% each.
For the indigestion problems, Angelica glauca and
Girardiana diversifolia were the species found to be
useful to the informants; the plants are also used for the
constipation and abdomen pain, respectively. The plants
for the ailment of skin diseases were Aconitium balfouri
and Saussurea gossypiphora while S. obvallata, Swertia
chirayita, Syringa emodi, A. hetrophyllum, Bergenia
ciliate and Picrorhiza kurrooa were used by the
inhabitants for cough and fevers, Picrorhiza kurrooa and
A. hetrophyllum were also used for stomachache and
Bergenia ciliata for kidney calculi. The cuts and wounds
were cured by the informants with the plant parts of
Morina longifolia, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Gymnadenia
orchidis, Podophyllum hexandrum and Rheum australe.
The Berberis aristata and Galium aparine plant parts are
used in the opthamological problems. The plant parts of
Bhat et al. 151
Nardostachys grandiflora, Nardostachys jatamansi and
Roscoea alpina were used for heart tonic, protection from
hair fall and for urinary diseases, respectively (Table 1).
The present findings are similar with the findings reported
by Singh and Rawat (2011) and Gaur (1999) (Table 2).
Earlier studies have reported extra medicinal properties
of some plants which were not gathered in the present
study (Table 2). Conservation of the worlds' wild genetic
resources increasingly depends on a small percentage of
land area in nature reserves, especially at a time when
natural areas are being rapidly depleted (Macdonald et
al., 1989). Keeping in view the conservation of medicinal
plants in Himalayas, the ecological status of the
medicinal plants was assessed through secondary
literature and the following plants; Swertia chirayita,
Aconitium balfouri, A. hetrophyllum, P. kurrooa and
Nardostachys jatamansi were categorised as vulnerable
and Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Podophyllum hexandrum as
endangered (Semwal et al., 2007).
The National Medicinal Plant Board categorised A.
balfouri and Saussurea gossypiphora as vulnerable,
Nardostachys grandiflora, A. hetrophyllum, P. kurrooa
and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as critically endangered while
Angelica glauca, Saussurea obvallata, Swertia chirayita
and Podophyllum hexandrum had been kept under the
category of endangered species (NMPB, 2003).
According IUCN Red List Categories, P. kurrooa, A.
hetrophyllum and Podophyllum hexandrum are under
rare list (IUCN, 1993; Nayar; Shastry, 1987, 1988, 1990).
Gaur (1999) categorized Morina longifolia and Roscoea
alpine as rare species (Table 3). Only eight species;
Berberis aristata, Syringa emodi, Gymnadenia orchidis,
Rheum australe, Rheum moorcroftianum, Galium
aparine, Bergenia ciliata and Girardiana diversifolia have
not been put under any category and seems available
abundantly in nature.
The product (Fic)/informant’s consensus factor ranges
152 J. Med. Plants Res.

Table 2. Cross check of plant species with their ailments by different authors with present study.

Plant species Singh and Rawat (2011) Gaur (1999) Present study
Aconitium balfouri Stapf. - Fever and bowl complaints Skin diseases (poisonous)
Aconitium hetrophyllum Wallich. Fever,cough and stomachache - Fever, cough and stomachache
Angelica glauca Edgew. Dysentery and constipation Bronchitis and constipation Indigestion and constipation
Berberis aristata DC. Rheumatism, fever, eye diseases Opthalmia and fever Eye irritation
Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. Fevers, diarrhoea and pulmonary infections Digestive disorders Kidney calculi, diarrhoea and fevers
Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo Cuts, stop bleeding, Aphrodisiac - Wounds and cuts
Galium aparine L. Stops bleeding Astringent (to stops bleeding) Eye diseases and to stop bleeding
Girardiana diversifolia (Link) Friis Diuretic Gonorrhoea Abdoman pain and indigestion
Gymnadenia orchidis Lindl. - - Wounds
Morina longifolia Wall. ex DC. Burns and Boils Burns and wounds Antiseptic (burns and wounds)
Nardostachys grandiflora DC. Heart tonic - Heart tonic, blood diseases
Nardostachys jatamansi DC. - - Hairfall
Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth Fever and stomachache - Fever and stomachache
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle. Septic wounds - Antiseptic (wounds)
Rheum australe D. Don. Wounds - Wounds
Rheum moorcroftianum Royle. Dysentery and internal wounds - Dysentery and internal wounds
Roscoea alpina Royle. Urinary disease and tuberculosis - Urinary diseases
Saussurea gossypiphora D. Don. Asthma and skin diseases - Skin diseases
Saussurea obvallata (DC.) Edgew. Cough - Cough
Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karsten Blood diseases Blood diseases Fever and blood diseases
Syringa emodi Wallich ex Royle. Fever Fever Fever

Table 3. Status of plant species by different organizations and authors.

Plant species Semwal et al. (2007) NMPB (2003)
Aconitium balfouri Stapf Vu Vu
Aconitium hetrophyllum Wallich Vu Ce
Angelica glauca Edgew. - E
Berberis aristata DC. - -
Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. - -
Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo E Ce
Galium aparine L. - -
Girardiana diversifolia (Link) Friis - -
Gymnadenia orchidis Lindl. - -
Morina longifolia Wall. ex DC. - -
Nardostachys grandiflora DC. - Ce
IUCN (1993) Gaur (1999)
- -
R -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- R
- -
 Bhat et al. 153

Table 3.Continue.

Nardostachys jatamansi DC. Vu - - -

Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. Vu Ce R -
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle. E E R -
Rheum australe D. Don - - - -
Rheum moorcroftianum Royle - - - -
Roscoea alpina Royle - - - R
Saussurea gossypiphora D. Don - Vu - -
Saussurea obvallata (DC.) Edgew. - E - -
Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karsten Vu E - -
Syringa emodi Wallich ex Royle. - - - -
(-)
R = rare, Vu = vulnerable, Ce = critically endangered, E = endangered. = not available.

Table 4. Informant consensus regarding use of taxa in the study area.

Number of Informant’s
Category of Number of use
taxa consensus
illness reports (nur)
used (nt) index factor (Fic)*
Ophthalmological 2 55 0.98
Haematological 1 20 1.00
Urological 2 35 0.97
General Medicines (Fever, cough, wounds, antiseptic) 14 85 0.85
Dermatological 3 90 0.98
General surgery 3 65 0.97
Gastroenterological 6 61 0.92
*Fic = nur - nt / (nur - 1), providing a value between 0 and 1, where high value indicates a high rate of informant consensus.

from 0 to 1. A high value (close to 1) indicates that
relatively few taxa (usually species) are used by a
large proportion of the healers, while a low value
indicates that the informants disagree on the taxa
to be used in the treatment within a category of
illness. The Fic was found to be higher in the
Haematological illness category (1.00) followed by
Dermatological and Ophthalmological category
which was (0.98). The Fic for Urological and
General surgery was (0.97) while Fic for Gastro-
enterological and General Medicine categories
were recorded as 0.92 and 0.85, respectively
(Table 4).
Kumar et al. (2011) conducted the study in
lower belts of Himalayas where consensus survey
indicated that the inhabitants have a high level of
agreement regarding the usages of single plant.
The range of consensus factor index (Fic) reported
was 0.33 to 1.0. The index value was high (1.0)
for warts, vomiting, carminative, pain, boils and
antiseptic uses, and lowest index value (0.33) was
found for bronchitis. Namsa et al. (2011) also
carried out a study in Monpa ethynic community of
Arunachal Pradesh for consensus index factor
154 J. Med. Plants Res.
(Fic) and the value ranged from 0.17 to 0.56 which
indicated a high level of consensus.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to University Grants Com-
mission, New Delhi, India for awarding RFSMS
(Research Fellowship in Sciences for Meritorious
Students) to Mr. Jahangeer A. Bhat for conducting this
research work. Authors are also grateful to PCCF,
Wildlife Uttarakhand, DFO Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary
for providing necessary permissions and respondents of
Madhmaheshwer area for their support during interviews
and discussions.
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