Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the marginalized Kumal ethnic community on utilization of medicinal plants in Nepal

Abstract

Documentation of indigenous knowledge not only preserves invaluable cultural insights but also enriches scientific research by bridging gaps between traditional wisdom and modern scientific approaches. This study documents indigenous practices on medicinal plants of a marginalized Kumal community in Nepal. Information about the medicinal plants was collected by interview with the knowledgeable household members (60 households) using standard questionnaire and focus group discussions. Eighty-two plant species used by Kumal community were reported during the study for the treatments of 35 ailments under 12 use categories. Sixty-nine plant species were dicots, 11 were monocots and 2 species were Pteridophytes. Asteraceae as the commonly used family, herbaceous species as habit, roots-rhizomes and corms as the medicinal parts, infusion and decoction as the form of application were mostly cited by the informants. The plant species Zanthoxylum armatum, Litsea cubeba, Swertia chirayita, Terminalia chebula, Crateva unilocularis, Bergenia ciliata had high value of frequency of citation and relative frequency of citation. Kumals are not only knowledgeable on the diversity of medicinal plants but also, they are skillful to recognize the distribution of phytochemicals among the plant parts and effectiveness of use forms against different ailments. The respiratory trouble use category had the greatest F_IC indicating that this illness is more prevalent in the study area.