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Abstract Detail


Economic Botany Section

Paudyal, Sushil [1], Ghimire, Govind P.S. [2], Motley, Timothy [3].

Ethnobotanical study of plants used in treating skin ailments by Tharu culture in Dang Valley (Nepal).

The Tharu people are currently scattered along the southern foothills of the Himalayas and have lived in the Dang Valley in western Nepal since the early 14th century. In spite of the availability of modern medicine in recent times, Tharu people still depend extensively on traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of most illnesses. Traditional knowledge held by the Tharu is a combination of that brought with them, acquired from other cultures in the Dang Valley, and indigenous knowledge developed in situ. With an aim to document the traditional medical system of Tharu people and identify medicinally valuable plants, an ethnobotanical study was carried out in eleven Tharu settlements. A total of 143 plant species were reported as being currently used to treat 83 human and 13 animal illnesses. Forty of the medicinal plant species were used for the treatment of various skin ailments. Dermatological herbal preparations used leaves, flower and fruits, sap, bark, and in the case of some herbs the whole plant is used. The majority of these treatments are topical and externally applied in affected body parts. We did not run any clinical trails but in general the informants have positive results from the treatments.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - Old Dominion University, Biological Sciences, 110 Mills Godwin Building, W 45th Street, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA
2 - Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Botany, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
3 - Old Dominion University, Biological Sciences, 110 Mills Godwin/ W 45th St., Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

Keywords:
Dermatitis
Ethnobotany
Herbal medicine
Medicinal plants
Nepal
Tharu
Traditional knowledge.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Battelle South/Convention Center
Date: Monday, July 9th, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PEN006
Abstract ID:757


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