Folklores of Santhals Inhabiting Joypur Forest of Bankura District, West Bengal Regarding Medicinal Uses of Plants

Abstract

The present work, an outcome of thorough field survey, deals with the documentation of ethnomedicinal plants used by the folk communities in Joypur forest of Bankura district, West Bengal. Information collected from traditional practitioners of the area concerns as many as 30 plant species belonging to the 21 families, their local names, disease- curing properties, parts used, preparation and mode of administration. As taxonomic documentation of medicinal plants and documentation of their ethnomedicinal uses deserve topmost priority in contemporary scientific researches, much care has been taken in their identification and nomenclature.. This study attempts to draw attention for in-depth study on the concerned medicinal plants, the result of which is likely to provide novel, better and efficient remedies for many dreadful diseases. This kind of study is likely to prove useful for protection of intellectual property right (IPR) of the persons from whom the knowledge has been shared.