Indian Journal of Agricultural Research

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Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, volume 55 issue 1 (february 2021) : 1-12

Diversity and Utilization of Medicinal Flora of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Campus Rajouri Jammu and Kashmir, India

Humaira1, Shreekar Pant1, Abdul Rashid Dar2,*, Afroza Akhter2, Mohammad Rafiq Wani2, Naseer Hussain Shah2
1Centre for Bio-Diversity Studies, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri-185 234, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
2Department of Botany, Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College, Bemina-190 018, Cluster University Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Cite article:- Humaira, Pant Shreekar, Dar Rashid Abdul, Akhter Afroza, Wani Rafiq Mohammad, Shah Hussain Naseer (2020). Diversity and Utilization of Medicinal Flora of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Campus Rajouri Jammu and Kashmir, India . Indian Journal of Agricultural Research. 55(1): 1-12. doi: 10.18805/IJARe.A-5305.

ABSTRACT

Background: Indian Himalayan region has a rich heritage of species and genetic strains of flora and fauna and is considered as mega hot spot of biological diversity. Wild plant raw material is in great demand around the world for use by pharmaceutical companies, ethnomedicinal practitioners and variety of traditional medicines. India is one of the world’s major exporters of raw herbal drugs and the Himalayas are renowned for their vast storehouse of medicinal plants. The present study conducted at Baba Ghulam Shah Basdshah University located in District Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir recorded the presence of 46 species of medicinal plants belonging to 34 families.

Methods: The plant specimens were collected from different parts of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Campus. All the parameters like habit, habitat, life form, parts used, methods of use were recorded on filed notebook along with date of collection. Routine herbarium practices were followed for preserving the plant specimens. The plant specimens were collected and their external morphology was studied and examined carefully. The specimens of medicinal plants were properly labelled and subsequently deposited in the Herbarium, Centre of Biodiversity Studies, BGSBU, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Result: During ethnobotanical exploration, 46 species distributed over 44 genera in 34 Families of wild medicinal plants were documented from four sampling sites. The details pertaining to common names, part used, medicinal uses and active constituents of each species were tabulated. Among the plant parts used, leaves contributed for medicinal use in about 63% species, followed by fruits in 19% species, underground parts in 10.8% species and flowers in 6.5% species. The enlisted plant species belonged to three life forms viz., herbs (21), shrubs (15) and trees (10). Asteraceae was the most dominant family represented by 4 species followed by Moraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae each represented by 3 species, while as families like Meliaceae, Violaceae, Berberidaceae were represented by 01 species each. 

INTRODUCTION

India is commonly called as ‘Botanical Garden’ of the world, owing to its wealth of herbal medicines. Medicinal plants constitute precious resources for mankind. Since times immemorial, plants have been put to medicinal use by traditional Herbalists/Hakims, Vaidays, Ayurvedic practitioners and common man. Also, the health care obtained by utilizing plants, plant parts or plant compounds has always been held in high esteem by folk medicine. Medicinal plants have been unique sources of medicines and constitute the most common human use of biodiversity (Hamilton, 2004).
       
India has one of the world’s richest medicinal plant heritage. In India, medicinal plants comprise approximately 8000 species and account for around 50% of all higher flowering plant species. In terms of volume and value of medicinal plants exported, it is after only China which tops the list of exporting countries (Singh, 2001). Also, in India there is a substantial volume of internal trade in medicinal plants. There are about 7800 medicinal drug-manufacturing units in India consuming about 2000 tonnes of herbs annually (Singh, 2001). It has been estimated that 14-28% of higher plant species are used medicinally, whereas 15% of all angiosperms have been investigated chemically and 74% of pharmaceutically active plant derived components were discovered after following the ethno- medicinal use of the plant.
       
District Rajouri, located in south-western side of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India is known for its economically valued plants and their products, such as medicine, food, fodder, fibre etc. Owing to its rich and unique floristic diversity, a good proportion of plants are used as medicine in one or the other form. The ethnic use of these herbs as medicine has probably been the only means of curing and protecting the human population from various diseases. Although a number of ethno-botanical studies have been carried out on the medicinal plants in Indian Himalayan region in general and Rajouri in particular, these studies were mainly focused on the enumeration of medicinal plants and were conducted on scattered basis on different ethnic groups. In spite of their availability and utilization by a large proportion by the middle hill dweller, no concerted effort has been made for the sustainable development of this renewable natural resource (Samin et al., 2008).
       
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University has been established in the year 2002. The University is located at the foothills of the great Himalayan Pir Panjal range. The University campus is located at a distance of approximately 8 km from the main city Rajouri. The region in which the university is located has rich geographic, climatic and cultural diversity. The climate varies from sub-tropical to sub-temperate type. The snow-capped peaks of the mighty Himalaya, rich biodiversity and valuable agri-diversity make entire Rajouri a nature Lover’s Paradise. Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University campus has ample and rich diversity of plant species. The University campus is also very rich in medicinal wealth. Centre of Biodiversity Studies (CBS), BGSBU has herbal garden for propagation and conservation of germplasm of medicinal and aromatic plants. However, fewer efforts have been undertaken to explore and document the medicinal values and decipher the benefits from them. Therefore, taking into consideration the significance and non-availability of any published account on the subject, an attempt was made to;
 
I.      Assess the diversity and use of medicinal plants and
II.     Identify the nativity and use pattern of medicinal plants present in BGSBU Campus.
 
Study area
 
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University is located in the district Rajouri. The district covers an area of about 2,630km2 and lies between 33°. 23' N 74°.18' E and 33°.38' N 47°.30' E. The district is over shadowed by Poonch in north, Jammu lies at its feet in south, Reasi in its east and is occupied by Kashmir in its west. The University campus exhibits marvellous altitudinal, topographic and edaphic diversity. Climate and vegetation of the area is sub-tropical to sub-temperate type. The area of the campus is largely hilly and exhibits rich diversity of flora and fauna.
 
The vegetation of the campus mainly comprises of trees: Pinus roxburghii, Quercus leucotricophora, Melia azedarach, Olea ferruginea, Salix sp. etc.; shrubs: Dodonaea viscosa, Berberis lycium, Rubus ellipticus etc and herbs: Cynodon dactylon, Mentha longifolia, Cannabis sativa, Vicia sativa etc.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Survey and identification
 
The plant specimens were collected from different parts of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Campus like surroundings of Centre for Biodiversity Studies, Department of Mathematics, College of Engineering and Technology and Administration Block between February - April, 2017. All the parameters like habit, habitat, life form, parts used, methods of use were recorded on filed notebook along with date of collection. Routine herbarium practices were followed for preserving the plant specimens (Jain and Rao, 1976). Uprooting tools like shovel and dissection box were used for collecting the specimens. The moist plant specimens were dried between folds of newspaper. The plant specimens were collected and their external morphology was studied and examined carefully. The plant specimens were identified in the department (CBS) BGSBU with the help of relevant floras (Sharma and Kachroo, 1981-1982; Hajra et al., 1995). The specimens of medicinal plants were properly labelled and subsequently deposited in the Herbarium, Centre of Biodiversity Studies, BGSBU, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
 
Determination of nativity and use pattern
 
Nativity of a species refers to the place of origin of species. Nativity was determined with the help of Anonymous (1883 - 1970) and Samant (1999). Utilization of the collected species is based on secondary information (Nisa et al., 2011; Shode et al., 2009; Jabeen et al., 2009).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

(a) Classification
 
Depending upon the parts used for medicine, the medicinal plants can be grouped in following categories:
 
i. Plants with underground parts
 
The underground parts of some plants form an important source of medicine used mostly by some tribal and manufacturing medicinal companies. The common examples of such plants are Adiantum capillus-veneris, Berginia ciliata, Valeriana wallichii, Taraxacum officinale and Asparagus racemosus.
 
ii. Plants with medicinal leaves
 
Most of the plants are medicinally important for their leaves. The species belonging to this category are: Aloe vera, Artemesia scoparia, Ajuga reptans, Berginia ciliata, Buddleja asiatica, Conyza canadensis, Callistemon citrinus, Calotropis procera, Catharanthu sroseus, Cannabis sativa, Debregea siasalicifolia, Dodonaea viscosa, Ginkgo biloba, Hercleum candicans, Justicia adhatoda, Cassia fistula, Melia azedarach, Mentha longifolia, Oxalis corniculata, Olea ferruginea, Plantago lanceolata, Rumex nepalensis, Reinwardtia indica, Taraxacum officinale, Sonchus arvensis, Trifolium pratense, Thalictrum foliolosum, Vitex negundo and Withania somnifera.
 
iii. Plants with medicinal flowers
 
Few species of the plants are known to be important in having medicinal flowers and inflorescences. This category includes the species like Viola canascens, Punica granatum and Oenothera lamarkiana.
 
iv. Plants with medicinal fruits
 
Some of the plant species were recorded whose fruits are medicinally important. This category includes the species like Berberis lycium, Embilica officinalis, Ficus racemosa, Ficus palmata, Morus alba, Punica granatum, Rubus ellipticus, Vicia sativa, Zanthoxylum aromatum and Zizipusm auritiana.
 
v. Other medicinal plant types
 
This category includes the plants with bark and resin with medicinal properties. The common examples of this category are: Euphorbia heliscopia with latex and Zanthoxylum aromatum with bark having medicinal properties.
 
(b) Diversity
 
The study recorded 46 species, 44 genera belonging to 34 families distributed within different life forms i.e. shrubs (15 species), trees (10 species) and herbs (21 species). Family wise distribution indicated that Asteraceae is the dominant family with 04 species followed by Moraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae with 03 species each and Apocyanaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Lilliaceae with 2 species each and the rest of the families with only 1 species (Table 1-4).
 

Table 1: Diversity and diagnostic description of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus, Jammu and Kashmir.


 

Table 2: Diversity and diagnostic description of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus, Jammu and Kashmir.




Table 3: Diversity and diagnostic description of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus, Jammu and Kashmir.


 

Table 4: Diversity and diagnostic description of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus, Jammu and Kashmir.


 
 
(c) Family wise distribution
 
Family-wise distribution reveals that out of the total 46 species, family Asteraceae represents the maximum distribution (4 species) followed by Moraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (3 species each), Liliaceae, Apocyanaceae and Euphorbiaceae (2 species each). The other families like Meliaceae, Violaceae, Berberidaceae, Saxifragaceae, Cannabaceae, Punicaceaeetc are represented by only one species each (Table 1-4; Fig 1).
 

Fig 1: Family-wise distribution of medicinal plants of BGSBU campus, Rajouri, J and K.


 
(d) Nativity
 
Out of the total (46) collected species; more than 50% are non-native, while the rest are native to Himalayan region (Table 1-4). Some of the examples of native species are Asparagus racemosus, Berginia ciliata, Conyza canadensis, Cannabis sativa etc. The examples of some non-native species are Aloe vera, Dodonaea viscosa, Ginkgo biloba, Thalictrum foliolosum etc.
 
(d) Utilization pattern
 
The utilization pattern of the species indicated that leaves of 29 species, underground parts of 05 species, whole plants of 06 species, flowers of 03 species, fruits of 08 species and other parts like latex of 01 species were utilized (Fig 2). Among the medicinal part used, leaves contribute for the maximum portion with 29 species (63%) followed by 09 species as fruits (19%), 03 species as flower (6.5%), 05 species as underground parts (10.8%), 01 specie as latex (1%) and 01 specie as bark (1%) (Table 5-12).
 

Table 5: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 6: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 7: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 8: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 9: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 10: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 11: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Table 12: Utilization and active constituents of medicinal flora of BGSBU Campus.


 

Fig 2: Utilization pattern of medicinal plants of BGSBU campus Rajouri, J and K, India.

CONCLUSION

The present study conducted at Baba Ghulam Shah Basdshah University located in district Rajouri recorded the presence of 46 species of medicinal plants belonging to 34 families. Asteraceae was the dominant family with 04 species, followed by Moraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae with 03 species each, Liliaceae, Apocyanaceae and Euphorbiaceae with 02 species each and the rest with 01 species each. Distribution of life forms showed the richness of herbs (21 species) followed by shrubs (15 species) and trees (10 species). The medicinal plants reported from BGSBU Campus can be used to enhance the economy of local inhabitants. In nutshell, this study could be of greater help in forming the pioneer compilation of medicinal wealth of the region.

REFERENCES


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  2. Flora of India Vol. 13 (1995). In: Hajra, P.K., Rao, R. R., Singh, D. K. and Uniyal, B. P. (Eds.). Botanical Survey of India, Kolkota, pp. 425

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  4. Hamilton, A.C. (2004). Medicinal plants, conservation and livelihoods. Biodiversity and Conservation. 13(8): 1477-1517. 

  5. Jabeen, Q., Bashir, S., Lyoussi, B. and Gilani, A. H. (2009). Coriander fruit exhibits gut modulatory, blood pressure lowering and diuretic activities. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 122(1): 123-130.

  6. Jain, S. K. and Rao, R. R. (1976). A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi.

  7. Nisa, S., Bibi, Y., Waheed, A., Zia, M., Sarwar, S., Ahmed, S. and Chaudhary, F. (2011). Evaluation of anticancer activity of Debregeasia salicifolia extract against estrogen receptor positive cell line. African Journal of Biotechnology. 10(6): 990-995.

  8. Samant, S. S. (1999). Diversity, nativity and endemism of vascular plants in a part of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in west Himalaya I. Himalayan Biosphere Reserves. 1(1-2): 1-28.

  9. Samin, J. M., Ajab, K., Siraj, D., Waheed, M., Manzoor, H. and Aneela, G. (2008). Herbal remedies used for gastrointestinal disorders in Khagan valley, NWFP, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Weed Sciences Research. 14(3-4): 169-200.

  10. Sharma, B. H. and Kachroo, P. (1981-82). Flora of Jammu and Plants of Neighbourhood. Vols. 1-11. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

  11. Shode, F. O., Aiyelaagbe, O., Oyede, R. T. and Baijnath, H. (2009). Isolation and characterization of a new chalcone from the leaves of Heteropyxis natalensis. International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences. 1(2): 23-32.

  12. Singh, H. P. (2001). National perspective on development of medicinal and aromatic plants. Technical Report, AgriWatch;http://www.agriwatch.com
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