Ethnomedicinal Plants Used for Skin Care in Sirmour District of Himachal Pradesh (India)

Introduction

The study aimed to explore the Indigenous knowledge regarding the utilisation of medicinal plants for curing skin diseases in rural pockets of Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh as the study area was unexplored till date. The main purpose of the study is to unfold the asset of traditional medicinal plants and make it accessible to others for further usage.

Methods

Facts on ethnomedicinal plants were recorded after the intensive field visits and surveys of 390 households of 69 villages using semistructured interviews and group discussions by standard questionnaires. All the collected data were analysed by informant consensus factor, fidelity level, use value, and relative frequency citation.

Results

The current research reported 73 ethnomedicinal plants of 39 families being utilised in skin cure. Maximum used method of preparation includes poultice (44.16%) while the utmost plants are used for curing injuries, cuts, and wounds (27%). The highest informant consensus factor value 0.93 was reported for ringworm disease. The highest fidelity level was reported for Euphorbia hirta (77.63%). In the study, 18 plants for curing skin ailments were reported for the first time.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that utilisation of Indigenous traditional herbal medicine is a well-established practice in Sirmour district to explore the original vicinity. However, plants were reported to be used unsustainably. The observation generated by this research creates scientific curiosity regarding further studies to assess the efficacy with modern assays, which will provide substantive benefits to society.