Traditional herbal practices associated with malaria and symptoms: Mishmi tribe cohort study from Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

Abstract

Introduction

The Miju-Mishmi tribe of Lohit district, Arunachal Pradesh has a long-standing tradition of utilising herbal remedies for treating various ailments, including malaria. This study aimed to explore the antimalarial plants traditionally utilised by the Miju-Mishmi tribe, their preparation methods, and the biological significance of these remedies through phytopharmacological analysis.

Methods

The three villages of Karhe, Ziro Basti and Telluliang in Arunachal Pradesh were selected as study sites which spanned from April 2020 to July 2021. A group of people, including knowledgeable elders, traditional healers, herb vendors, and patients, who had been treated, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In order to measure the efficacy and popularity of medicinal plants, ethnobotanical indices were computed. These included Fidelity Level, Preference Ranking, Use Value, Informant Consensus Factor, and Formulation Score.

Results and discussion

A total of 79 medicinal plants from 50 families and 71 genera, with 24 plants being newly identified for their antimalarial properties. Predominantly, leaves (30.38%) of herbaceous species (48.10%) were commonly used, with direct oral consumption being the highest preferred mode of administration (83.54%), primarily through extraction (25.81%) and decoction (22.58%). Notably, Aconitum heterophyllum demonstrated the highest fidelity value (≥80%), while Coptis teeta exhibited the highest Preference Ranking (≥65%). The Use Value index ranged from 0.07 to 0.87. Qualitative phytochemical profiling of selected plants confirmed their therapeutic efficacy against malaria.