“MEDICINAL PLANTS TRADITIONALLY USED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN AILMENTS IN AND AROUND ‘’POLO FOREST’’–VIJAYNAGAR DISTRICT”

This paper reports an ethnobotanical study that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local communities to treat various human diseases. The study focused on documentation of medicinal plants used to treat various human diseases in the study area. Ethnobotanical data were collected using surveys, interviews, field walks, and observations with local peoples. A total of 67 medicinal plants, were collected and identified. Crushing was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies where oral administration was the dominant route. Local people in the study area possess a rich traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used to treat various human ailments. However, agricultural expansion and lack of interest by the young generation became a major threat to the medicinal plant diversity and the retention of the knowledge. It is, therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, and the mode of preparation. To save medicinal plants from becoming rare in the area, cultivation of the medicinal plants by local communities is suggested.