Ethnomedicinal plants of India with special reference to an Indo-Burma hotspot region : An overview

Abstract

Ethnomedicines are widely used across India. Scientific knowledge of these uses varies with some regions, such as the North Eastern India region, being less well known. Plants being used are increasingly threatened by a variety of pressures and are being categories for conservation management purposes. Mizoram state in North East India has served as the location of our studies of ethnomedicines and their conservation status. 304 plants from 96 families were recorded as being used by the indigenous Mizo (and other tribal communities) over the last ten years. Analysis of distributions of species across plant families revealed both positive and negative correlations that are interpreted as evidence of consistent bases for selection.